Star Wars: Knight Rising
by SentryReynolds
Summary: The Great Galactic war rages on, taking the galaxy by storm as a beleaguered Republic is stretched to it's limits. Newly appointed Jedi Knight, Jace Corath, is sent to defend a mid rim planet from a brutal Sith offensive. What comes next will test his fortitude to it's absolute limit. Uploads every Friday. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hiatus is over, lovely people. Good grief that was long. Anyway, I'm back with technically the first fan fic I uploaded a bit ago. But I was a bit silly about it and uploaded it all at once which is not good. So I took it down, did a rewrite and here we are. I'll be uploading it on Firday mornings UK time. Enjoy and leave a review! _

Chapter One

_Hyperspace, 3653BBY_

_Republic Starship Valour _

The Republic Warship, Valour, hurtled through hyperspace towards Kosis Prime. The ship, a Valour class cruiser, was upward of 500 meters in length with a bulbous centre, bristling with turbolaser cannons. Other weapons such as concussion missiles, ion cannons and point defence lasers dotted the ships massive frame. Within the hanger area, 117 Liberator class star fighters waited for the inevitable space battle that would ensue. The Valour was flanked by 28 Thranta class corvettes but even then, the battle group was small compared to the other fleets that populated the galaxy at war. The great Galactic War had gone on for years now and the Republic was feeling the strain. The Sith offensive had been brutal and unrelenting. Thousands of Jedi and hundreds of thousands of Republic troops had been slain. This all worried Jace Corath, a newly appointed Jedi Knight who sat atop a metal box on the hanger deck. He pondered his mission, drawing upon the force to illuminate his path. Jace was a tall young human male, standing at an inch over six feet with a toned build. He had long black hair, a long nose and blue eyes. His looks were neither pretty nor distinguished, instead appearing rugged with a simple frown adorning his face. Despite the frown, Jace was known for his warm smile, inviting others to talk to him. He wore a Jedi robe over a set of silver Jedi Armour. His belt had various items, including the token weapon of the Jedi, a lightsabre. His was cylindrical with the auberesh word for 'Force' scaring the silver weapon. Jace's lightsabre wasn't overly special or decorated, instead he'd opted for a simple design, one which was dependable when battle came. The hanger deck was bustling with Republic troopers, pilots, deck staff and other engineers, most of who were simply passing the time in good spirits. Jace gave a soft smile; seeing the crew in good spirits warmed his heart and reminded him that, despite the long, seemingly unending war, there was still hope. He opened himself to The Force, increasing his senses to the point that he could everything around him. Much of the conversations revolved around buying each other drinks after the war, how their families were dealing with the constant threat the Sith posed and even if the Jedi were capable of defeating the threat. Jace imperceptibly frowned as he caught, almost echoes, of individuals' thoughts. He disliked his telepathy, mainly because he wasn't as skilled with it as he was with other aspects of The Force. He could do the basics, predicting combat moves and a general impression of a sentient's thoughts and feelings but nothing else. It did leave him at a disadvantage when compared to his peers but Jace was never meant to be a Consular.

"Uh, General, sir!" A relatively light voice called out.

Jace shook off his focus and faced the voice, finding a trooper calling him. The trooper was a human male, of relatively average height with close cut bleached blonde hair, tanned skin and deep black eyes. His armour, sharp and vibrant white was accented by orange indents and completely spotless, signifying he was a new trooper. His blaster rifle was securely locked to his back and unloaded.

"Oh, it's Commander, not general?"

The trooper gave a confused frown, tilting his head to the right. "Uh, what difference does that make?" He asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, typically, Masters are Generals, I'm a knight so I'm officially a Commander." Jace explained.

The trooper considered it for a moment before nodding. "Well, it's nice to meet you Commander." He outstretched his right hand to shake Jace's. "I'm Private Samkris Mallrad, or Snicks for short."

Jace smiled and took his hand. "Jace, Jace Corath, Jedi Knight."

Snicks nodded, letting go of his hand before his frown returned. "So, bearing in mind I've never spoken to a Jedi before, but do you guys get basic hand to hand combat training?"

Jace raised an eyebrow, smiling at the seemingly out of the blue question. "Uh, yeah," he laughed softly. "We can. All Jedi are obviously trained to fight with a lightsabre and most of us get basic hand to hand training, depending on our specialities. My own Master wouldn't even let me touch a lightsabre before he taught me how to fight and defeat an adversary with my hands."

Snicks listened intently, before spinning on his heel and announcing. "Hey, Commander said they can fight hand to hand."

Jace glanced at the gaggle of troopers forming behind them. "Betting?"

Jace focused in on the other troopers. "Betting?"

"Asking for a friend." Snicks clarified.

"Why?" Jace asked.

He pointed at a large trooper standing within the crowd. "He wants a piece." Jace eyed the trooper up; he was well over six feet tall, close to seven feet with biceps that caused his armour to strain every time he flexed. Even with the armour, Jace could tell he was an alien, perhaps one of the larger species. The trooper slowly removed his helmet, revealing dark green reptilian skin. The trandoshian was big, burly and looked as if he was grinning. "Bisk, here, thought Jedi were just reliant on their lightsabres."

Bisk spoke, his voice heavily accented with a slight lisp. "Yessss, Jedi, I wanted to test my might against a legendary warrior of the Jedi Order."

Jace held his hands up, a placating gesture, one his Master constantly reminded him to use when asked to fight. "Well, I'm not a legendary warrior," he gave a cunning smile. "But I don't mind testing my own might." He paused. "I've not seen a trandoshian in the army before."

Bisk shrugged. "I owe the Republic a great debt. This was just one way I could repay it." He gave a soft snarl. "Are you ready?"

Jace smiled. "Sure."

A small ring of troopers had formed around the fighting area which was between a deactivated loader droid and a set of crates. The crowd didn't really distract Jace from the crowd as he went through various mental exercises, subduing his own emotions. He removed his belt first, setting his lightsabre down on the ground before removing his upper torso armour. Bisk followed the same patter, adopting a fight stance with his fists clenched instead of brandishing his claws. Jace set about focusing on his opponent; Trandoshians were often employed as enforcers from gangs and bounty hunters. Their culture situated around the idea of the great hunt in which they had a gruelling feud with Wookiees, mainly about proving their strength superior to the might sons and daughters of Kashyykk. Bisk was an impressive specimen with bulging biceps that were as wide as Jace's torso and a wide torso that was thick with muscle. Jace imperceptibly smirked, eying several potential weaknesses before adopting his own fighting stance. As per his Master's training, he brought his palms up, leading with both his right palm and right foot. Jace was committed to the Jedi ideal of fighting only as a last resort and only in the defence of others. Humiliating Bisk would do nothing for his or the other troopers' morale and in the coming days, they would have to fight and possibly die together. He would let Bisk have the first blow. He dug his feet into the ground, waiting for the first strike. Bisk lashed out with a heavy right hook, trained and precise but easily evaded. Jace danced back, skilfully pushing Bisk's right fist high and responding with a left palm strike, stopping just before it connected. Bisk growled, slightly confused as he pushed Jace's palm aside, following it with a left jab aimed at his ribs. Again, Jace evaded, stepping behind Bisk and landing a sharp kick to the back of his right knee. Falling to his knee, Bisk quickly recovered, grabbing Jace by his throat and lifting him high into the air. Jace took a breath, restraining his emotions again and regaining his focus. He gripped Bisk's large forearm and swung his legs up, wrapping them around the Trandoshian's neck. He used his own weight and Bisk's surprise to flip him down to the ground. Bisk reflexively let go of Jace's neck, giving the latter a chance to strike. He lashed out with two palm strikes one to Bisk's upper torso and another to his shoulder. Bisk groaned in pain, the palm strikes almost completely bypassing the trandoshian's thick muscle. Jace rushed forward, blinding all present with his speed and went to land a final palm strike but stopped in the last instance. Bisk's eyes closed out of instinct but opened slowly as he realised Jace was offering him his hand, a smile adorning his face. Bisk took his hand and felt his bruised shoulder.

"That was some Jedi magic, wasn't it?" He said with a slight snarl.

Jace shook his head. "No magic, friend, just some simple palm strikes. Told you we could fight." The troopers around them all laughed voraciously as Bisk clasped Jace's shoulder.

"You're alright Commander, you're alright. I'll enjoy fighting beside you." He said putting his armour back on walking off with the rest of the troopers.

Snicks stopped behind, a giddy smile growing over his face. "Man, that was awesome. Didn't realise you guys could fight like that."

Jace put his armour back before folding his robe. "Trust me, I'm nothing special. Besides, I wasn't trying to hurt him."

"Is that why you let him have the first shot?" Snicks said. "I remember hearing Jedi only act in self defence.

"Spot on. Fighting is a last resort of most. There are some Jedi that forgo lightsabres, opting for diplomacy or other uses of The Force such as healing."

"What about you then? You a healer?" Snicks said with a slight smirk.

Jace returned the smirk. "No, my healing skills are pretty shocking. I'm training to be a Jedi Guardian, a peacekeeper of the order. We're trained in the finer parts of warfare and use The Force in a more direct manner." He explained.

"Do you guys steal children from their homes?"

Jace was dumbfounded. "Beg your pardon?"

"You know, Jedi steal kids to train them, right?" Snicks said innocently.

Jace was slightly aghast. "What? No! Force sensitive children are often found, and their parents are consulted with about joining the order. Hell, most kids still get to see their parents if they live on Coruscant."

Snicks realised he'd offended Jace. "Oh, sorry about that, buddy. What about you? Did your parents send you?"

Jace glanced away for a moment, wincing softly as if the question caused him pain. "No, uh, I don't know who my parents are. I was left on the temple steps as a baby, where the masters found me. My Master took me in and gave me his last name, treating me as his son. I don't even know what my real name is or where I come from."

Snicks was silent for a moment. "That's really horrible, man. I'm sorry about that. Didn't mean to dredge up any bad vibes, buddy,"

Jace regained his smile. "Don't sweat it, Snicks. Best thing about being a Jedi is that I have a new family.

"That seems like a good way to live, Jace." He gestured towards the nearby door. "Mess is probably still open. Let's go for a drink."

Jace nodded and left the busy hanger behind.

_Valour bridge _

Hilaria Movus gritted her teeth through a dull but persistent pain in her left arm. It was nothing malicious, just an old would that flared up now and again, especially during hyperspace jumps. She was a rather tall human woman, with greying blonde hair and slate grey eyes. She wore a Republic battle dress emblazoned with multiple medals and a blaster on her belt. Movus stretched and almost yawned but stopped herself. She had to be alert for the battle ahead of her. She was sure it would be sung in songs to come and remembered in historical texts for the ages. Kosis prime was an unassuming world, famous for nothing in particularly but it was situated in a hyperspace lane than led into the inner rim. While the Mandolorian offensive had further pushed through the rim borders, Kosis hadn't been touched. Now though, it had caught the eye of the Sith with Republic naval scouts identifying it as next in line to be attacked. Movus had been put in charge of the battle group to her surprise and chagrin. She wasn't afraid of battle but found defending Coruscant to be more important. Her interjections had been noted but ignored and here she was. There were many things annoying her about the orders she had been given. Firstly, her Valour cruiser should have been supplemented by at least eight other cruisers as well as a battle cruiser. The frigates would be Cannon fodder if any of the Empire's Harrower class cruisers were waiting. Secondly, she had been given two Jedi, who were young and recently promoted. Her normal Jedi General, Ardin Corath had been called away to another theatre of war. He had sent his former padawan in his stead. Ardin vouched for the boy but Movus was nervous. Whatever happened on Kosis Prime would test her forces to their limits.

"Captain?"

The voice of her first mate brought her back from thought. "Yes, Dace, go ahead."

Dace smiled; Dace was a tall, Cerean male standing clear of six feet with his enlarged cranium adding a few more inches. He was slender and wore a red Republic navy uniform. "Ships reporting weapons ready for immediate contact as well as fighters being fully fueled. Telemetry from communications on Kosis Prime reveal nothing out of the ordinary yet."

Movus' frowned, surprised about beating the Sith. "We're ahead of them?" She asked.

Dace spread his hands. "Either that or they're there and haven't made their presence known yet."

Movus scratched her left arm with her right hand and glanced away from her subordinate to the main view screen. "How long till we exit Hypersapce?"

Dace consulted his console. "About five minutes -." He suddenly stopped speaking as the proximity alert alarm went off.

"What the hell is that?" Movus asked, her voice calm but serious.

Dace again consulted his console. "I'm reading multiple contacts in Kosis Prime's system." He looked back at his Captain. "It's the Sith."

Movus' face turned dark and angry. "Alert the ships, bring us to combat level 1 and prepare for a fight."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N - Hi, I'm back. Chapter two is slightly longer than the last but I'm going to aim for ten chapters which should be 2500 per chapter. Thanks to everyone who read last week and if you're new, welcome! Enjoy and leave a review!_

Chapter 2

_Mess hall _

The mess hall was surprisingly busy, despite the time to deploy being near. Many troopers had decided to get seconds and enjoy whatever comforts they could before landing. Jace enjoyed his blue milk as he discussed various topics with Snicks, mostly about the Jedi order. He'd also learnt more about his new friend; Snicks was his age, from a military family and related to a famous General. Though Snicks didn't advertise the fact, even appearing sheepish and embarrassed by the fact. He had stated that he wanted to grow out of his Uncle's shadow and make his own path. Jace had nothing but sympathy for him. His own master, Ardin Corath, was one of the foremost Jedi Generals of their time and one of the greatest Guardians. He was considered a tactical genius, a master duellist and proficient in nearly all direct Force abilities, being able to defy gravity with his mastery of telekinesis.

Jace stroked his chin. "Growing up in someone's shadow is never easy, my friend. Ever since I passed the trails to become a Jedi Knight, I've wanted nothing more than to prove I'm something other than my master's student. It's how we learn who we are.

Snicks nodded, taking a sip from his water. "All I've ever heard is stories about my Uncle's exploits, about his missions and achievements. Its too much to live up to and I need to show them that I'm my own person."

Jace frowned for a moment. "Are you afraid?"

Snicks glanced down and considered his hands for a long time. "Well when I got my assignment, my hands wouldn't stop shaking." He held them up. "They've stopped now but I'm still damned scared. In my last assignment, I barely escaped a Sith warrior." Snicks' eyes suddenly drew into a thousand-yard stare. "You don't realise how scary they are when you've got a few Jedi around you. But once you're alone with that red blade the only thing illuminating the room, you suddenly start believing in the fairy tales you're told about the Sith eating babies."

Jace nodded slowly; Snicks's fear in the Sith was not misplaced. They were fearsome warriors with some being barbaric in their methods. The war had tested the Jedi's strength and their abilities to their max but even then, they hadn't gotten any closer to an endpoint in the war. "I know what you're talking about. I've only ever fought one Sith warrior by myself and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen." He shook his head. "Jedi are taught to rise above our fear and embrace serenity, so that we're clear minded in battle. But it's near impossible when a seven-foot-tall monster is chasing you down with a blood red blade."

"Did you kill him?" Snicks asked.

Jace shook his head. "No, in fact I would've died if my master hadn't of arrived and dropped a support column on him. The Sith are hard to kill, so I'm not sure if that even killed him." He suddenly became distant. "So many of the past wars have shown that; Darth Revan, Darth Malak, Exar Kun, they've all had one thing in common: resistance to whatever we throw at them."

Snicks gave another frown. "That's another thing I've always wondered: how come the Jedi have never been able to fully destroy the Dark Side?"

Jace frowned for a moment. "It's not as simple as that. The Force itself isn't necessarily so binary, or at least my Master doesn't believe so. It simply exists and both we and the Sith seek to use it however we see fit. It's more of a balancing act; there can never been too much light or too much dark at any one time. My master believes that at the moment, the balance is beginning to tip more towards the dark after a period within the light. We may be entering another period of darkness."

Snicks suddenly grew fearful. "You mean the Jedi will die out?"

Jace interlaced his fingers and brooded for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. I can't lie to you, Snicks, I just don't know. This war has dragged on for far too long. We've barely gained ground and both the Republic, and the Jedi are stretched far too thinly. We've lost so many pillars in both the Jedi leadership and the Republic that, when this is finished, it'll take years for us to rebuild. This upcoming battle is a perfect example of how outmatched we are. The battle group has one cruiser, normally we should have at least three or more. We're expected to land on Kosis Prime and take the planet with whatever forces we have. If the Sith fleet is already there we'll lose most of support group in a matter of hours and that's before we even set foot on the planet." As Jace finished, lights suddenly flickered in the mess as the ship decelerated from Hyperspace.

Snicks glanced around, a quizzical frown crossing his face. "Bit early, aren't we?"

Jace's temples suddenly felt as if his brain had exploded as he gripped them in pain. "Snicks… down." He managed.

Snicks tried to react, but he was far too slow to avoid the danger. Time seemed to slow down as Jace summoned The Force to him, ignoring the pain. He leapt forward and surrounded himself and Snicks in a telekinetic shield as turbolaser fire ripped through the mess hall. Air was violently sucked into the void, followed by unlucky trooper who hadn't magnetised their boots. Jace grimaced as he felt them pass and sustained the shield until the Valour's shields covered the wound. He dropped the shield and felt to one knee, exhaling raggedly. He slowly centred himself and stood, regaining his composure.

He glanced at Snicks. "You okay?" He asked.

Snicks gulped down air as quickly as he could and suddenly clapped Jace on his shoulder. "Damn, you're a super hero. Stang, you saved my life, man."

Jace brushed off his gratitude. "Don't mention it."

An announcement caught his attention. "Commander Corath to bridge, repeat Commander Corath, your presence is needed on the bridge."

Jace frowned but accepted his summons. He looked back at Snicks. "I have to go but I'm sure we'll catch up later. Stay safe." Before Snicks could react, Jace sprinted off, adding The Force to his speed and turning into a blur.

_Bridge _

The bridge was a flurry of activity with personal scrambling to and from their stations, each relaying different messages. The occasional shudder was brought on by an onslaught of fire from the Sith battle group. Some of the viewscreens looked as if they were close to giving way from the fire but the occasional flicker of deflector shields showed there was still some hope. Jace did his best to side step officers and headed straight for the Captain. She seemed to have a preternatural sense as she spoke to Jace without looking.

"Good to have you here, Jace." She said while instructing her ship's batteries to fire on the nearby Harrower cruiser.

"Captain, what do you need?"

"That," She said pointing at the planet in the main view screen. "Is our target. We need to get down there and begin deployment, but these bastards are making it difficult. There's a window coming up were I could give you minutes but after that I won't be able to provide any more cover fire. If we don't time it correctly, I could lose you all in seconds."

Jace closed his eyes, taking her fears to heart and focusing on the battle, opening himself to The Force. It all seemed to far and yet so close at once as he saw ships flying towards one another. Lances of green and red energy traced across the void, incinerating ships and leaving deep gashes on others. Fighter ships scrambled to defend their mother vessel from the oncoming onslaught. He saw the dead, lingering in the cold void with some trying to cling to what little life remained. He kept his eyes closed as he delivered his report.

His voice was almost monotone. "Fighter support is impossible, it's needed here. The window is coming up, but to reach it, your dropship pilots would need to good. No, not good, they'd need to be the best. If I could connect them, I could guide them to the planet. They'll feel when I react and it would dramatically increase our chances of survival."

She suddenly looked over at Jace, a disbelieving look on her face. "Ardin said you were good but are you this good?"

Jace smiled softly, still looking out of the main view screen. "I'll have to be. The only thing that matters is landing on Kosis and beginning evacuation procedures.

"Evacuation procedures?"

Jace slightly smirked. "You think we'll be able to hold the planet?"

Movus considered his point. "True."

"But while we're doing that, we'll need you to hold here."

Movus snorted. "Sure, I'll do that. Maybe even summon ten other cruisers and hold a parade." She added sarcastically. "I lost seven of my frigates in the mere minutes since we exited hyperspace."

Jace appreciated her concern as he walked towards her, agreeing with her assessment. "I understand, Ma'am. If you cannot hold this position, then make a tactical retreat."

The bridge crew were suddenly silent as they stared at Jace in shock. The Captain returned the sentiment.

The entire bridge crew, including the Captain stared at him. "That's suicide. Without fleet support, you're not making it off that planet."

"I'm not telling you to give up on us." He said softly. "Leave and return with reinforcements. Inform Republic Command of the strategic importance of the system and request more ships. However long it takes, you have my word that I will hold the planet with what troops I have and keep the Sith down."

She shook her head and took him aside, whispering into his arm. "Jace, it's impossible, you'll die." She squeezed his arm. "This war already has too many dead heroes, it doesn't need anymore."

Jace appreciated her concern but considered the sacrifices those heroes had made to buy the Republic time. "Those who came before me all died believing they had brought the Republic time. They were ready to give their lives, no matter what. I have no right to do any less."

She exhaled forcefully and shook her head. "You're definitely Ardin's student." She paused before returning her voice to its normal tone. "Fine, alert your troops and prepare them for insertion. The other Jedi commander has already left and managed to land on Kosis. If you can pull this crazy stunt off you'll be able to link up with her. I'll retreat and come back with as much firepower as I can."

Jace smiled. "Understood." He turned to walk away but Movus called him back one more time.

"Oh, and Jace?" He glanced back at her. "May the force be with you."

He gave one final smile before nodding and heading down to the hanger.

_Hangar deck_

The hangar was awash with activity and almost chaotic as Liberator star fighters were launched as quickly as possible. Among the ship's complement was a 32 Rendaran class assault shuttles, typically used for fast moving infiltrations of war-torn planets. Of the 32, nine were rigged for heavy equipment transport for large Manka class armoured transports that were lightly armed. Jace scowled softly, annoyed that there were no tanks in sight. He'd heard that the battle group had left far too quickly and hadn't had the correct delivery of munitions. The Manka's, while formidable, were not equipped to provide heavy support fire. Fighting a battle without any tanks was going to be difficult but Jace hoped the APC's could provide enough cover fire. He had a few plans to use mines and other equipment to trip up the Sith's tanks but hoped it wouldn't come to that. The gunship pilots had began to coral around their ships, each conversing with each other about the forthcoming battle and reiterating the same sentiment: they were going to die. One, a twi'lek male with blue armour to match his skin wore a permanent grimace as he spoke to his other pilots.

"This is kirffing suicide." He said, continuing to grimace. "Have you guys since the tactical output out them? It's a bantha show and we're going to get blow out of the sky before we even get near that planet."

One of the human pilots, a fairly stocky but muscularly built woman spoke in a deep voice. "Quit your whining, Dev, we've got Jedi on our side."

Jace had to stop his right eye from twitching as his face blushed slightly. The crew immediately looked at him, eagerly awaiting his words. He cracked his neck slightly and cleared his throat. "I know this is usually when the Jedi gives a great speech, but I didn't come prepared." There was some scattered laughter, as if the pilots were happy with his candid nature. "I know you're scared, believe me, I am too. There's nothing wrong with that fear, in fact, it'll give you all the resolve to fight harder over the next few days. If you listen to me now, I will get us to that planet, and we will liberate Kosis Prime."

The pilots all nodded slowly with a few small cheers before the female pilot spoke up. "What's the plan, Commander?"

Jace smiled as a small astromech rolled towards them and displayed a holographic model of the battle. It was based upon real time, showing fight patterns, fighters engaging with each and even laser fire. "It's a mess out there, just as you said." He said acknowledging the twi'lek. "But there is a window of opportunity. At this moment, we have Harrower class cruisers peppering the battle group with an onslaught of fire. As strange as it sounds, we need to fly above the mess to avoid the onslaught and reach the planet." The astromech highlighted their route which shone a neon blue. "To get us there, we will all need to react as fast as possible. I know, as pilots, your reflexes are good, but they will need to be Jedi good to get past the fire. So, I'll be hosting a mind-link, in which when I feel something, you'll be able to pick it up and evade. I can give you a verbal callout if that'll help. I'm going to be honest with you, telepathy isn't my strongest suit but I'm going to give it all my focus."

The pilots nodded again before Dev put his hand up. "So, we'll see what you see."

Jace frowned slightly. "Not everything, only what threatens us. If you see what I see on top of what you have to focus on, you'd be effectively blind to the fancy flying you'll have to do." The pilots murmured in agreement. "After we get through this crisscross of fire, we'll be heading for the capital city. What little communication we've got has told us the Sith will be making their first landings near there. They have a series of anti-aircraft cannons but not enough to do a lot of damage. We'll land and make that city a fortified position. Supposedly, the local garrison is rolling out what fighters they and have deployed recon sniper teams at different areas. We should have some actionable intel by time we land." He paused briefly. "Any questions?" No one asked anything and with a nod of his head, Jace dismissed the pilots.

The human female approached him and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, commander, I'm lyranus or Lyra for short. I'll be your pilot for this little excursion." Jace nodded and began to follow her to the gunship before she stopped him again. "So this whole magic deal thing you're about to do, what will it be like?"

Jace suppressed the urge to shrug and instead frowned. "I'm not quite sure, I've never really attempted to link this many people before."

Lyra's eyes suddenly widened. "What?" She almost hissed her next words. "You could get us all killed."

Jace nodded. "I'm aware of that but I promise you, I will do everything I can to make sure that does not happen."

The words seemed to placate her for a moment before she suddenly asked. "Will you be able to my thoughts or anything?"

Jace shook his head. "No, like I said, it's only based on danger sense. I won't see anything you think of."

She eyed him up and sighed longingly. "That's a plus. Let's do this."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N - Phew, sorry about the late upload. Can't believe I almost forgot. Anyway, this is going to be a shorter chapter than last week but I'll be following it up with a longer, action packed chapter next week. Thanks for all the readers so far, hope you're enjoying this. _

Chapter Three

_Gunship Zeta lead_

The gunship was cramped and there was an odd smell, something Jace couldn't quite place. The essence of personal space had been completely lost with troopers packed in as close as possible. The tallest of troopers had to stoop as much as they could to avoid hitting their heads against the ceiling. It was a fairly eerie thought that the next sounds would from the gunship would be dull thumps of laser fire and rampant buffeting as the gunship avoided danger. Jace was at the forefront of the shuttle, sandwiched between Lyra and her co-pilot, a disgruntled Zabrak male who barely spoke. He'd looked at Jace once since he'd boarded the craft and Jace was sure his gaze had bore holes into his skull.

"Horn's quiet but he's good people." Lyra said, seemingly picking up Jace's nervousness.

"He's a sparkling conversationalist." Jace added sardonically, to which Horn responded with a slight chuckle.

"Wow, made him chuckle, that's new." Lyra said. "How come you never laugh at my jokes?"

"Bantha dung is funnier." Horn said in a deep voice.

"Ass."

Jace exhaled slowly, regulating his heartbeat and focusing his breathing. Before going any further, he removed his lightsabre from his belt and examined it for a moment. He connected with it, dwelling upon memories of finding his crystal and constructing his lightsabre. For many Jedi, the lightsabre was not a weapon, but a symbol of their place within the Jedi order. It wasn't a simple weapon, rather a tool to be used with a just hand. He made sure he had enough space and ignited the weapon, revealing a neon blue blade. A few sarcastic comments were let loose about Jace using it deflect oncoming blaster fire. Jace smiled softly before deactivating it and glancing back at the tallest trooper on the gunship.

"Bisk, here"

Even with his full armour, Bisk was recognisable. He glanced at the weapon and cocked his head to the right. "Why?"

Jace gave a shake of his head to allay any fears. "Just in case." He said as the trandoshian took his weapon.

"I'll keep it safe." He offered.

Jace faced the front of the gunship and focused again, this time letting go of all concepts of time as he focused on everything around him. Sounds, smells, thoughts, feelings, it all flowed through him as if he was a conduit for the Force itself. He further widened his focus, reaching out to the pilots in the 32 vessels, feeling their fears and hopes. He united them all, stabilising the link and simply letting it settle. The link was holding but there was a cacophony of voices which were disrupting Jace's focus.

"If you would all be so kind as to be a little quieter for a moment." The voices began to die down and Jace's focus returned. The link was ready. "Launch!"

There was a thunderous roar as all 32 shuttles activated their engines and poured out of the hangar bay. As they exited the ship, a flurry of liberator fighters covered their exit, drawing away any encroaching Sith fighters. The shuttles quickly reached an optimum cruising speed, each pilot preying to whichever deity they wished that they wouldn't be noticed.

Jace anticipated the first threat and gave his first order. "All pilots, increase speed, maximum burn." Rather than a slight burst of acceleration, the shuttles roared forward with their thrusters burning at maximum.

It was difficult for Jace to remember he was still present on one gunship instead of being spread across 32 different vessels. He watched the battle with an odd sort of out of focus glance, observing the lances of energy streaking across the void. On occasion he paid too much attention to a certain ship before his focus was suddenly pulled back to his own ship. He suddenly noticed three Sith fighters converging on the farthest gun ship and had a target lock.

"Gunship Zeta 31, evasive manoeuvres to your starboard side." He ordered. In his mind's eye, he saw the gunship fire its emergency thruster and evade a series of turbolaser fire. There was a sudden series of cheerful whoops from the pilots as they began to believe they would succeed. Jace steeled himself, refusing to take any pleasure in their success, instead relaying another command. "All pilots, begin full fire spread of laser cannons. Don't worry about hitting anything, just keep them firing." Subtle thumps shook the gunship as its laser cannons began firing in rapid succession.

"90,000 metres to target and closing." Lyra sounded off.

Jace suddenly felt a searing pain in his right temple as he grimaced. The strain of holding the link was beginning to take it's toll and he wasn't sure how long he could withstand the onslaught. His muscles ached, his brain felt as if it was going to burst but he held fast. He felt a sudden stab of activity from in front of him. "Gunship Zeta Lead, dive."

"What?" Lyra asked, surprised by the urgency of his voice.

"DIVE NOW." Jace roared.

The gunship's engines almost screamed as it dove under a suicide Sith fighter, intending to take the ship down.

"Stang, that was close." Lyra shouted.

Jace audibly groaned in pain, catching the attention of the troopers behind him and Lyra. Instead of his brain, the searing pain was coming from his knees and they almost buckled under his weight. He ignored the pain again, focusing on the small readout above him. It told him everything he needed to know: all his gunships were still functioning and hurtling for Kosis Prime. But Jace knew it wasn't over yet. His mind was suddenly set ablaze with warnings. The Sith had noticed their approach and were setting all their available fighters after them. "All gunships, begin rapid evasion manoeuvres." Jace tried to stabilise his himself by putting his right hand forward, hoping the tangibility would increase his focus.

"50,000 meters to atmosphere. Almost there!" Lyra shouted.

Jace screamed in agony, unable to keep it in anymore, feeling as if his mind was tearing apart from the pressure. His focus was suddenly splintered as memories arose, ones that he did not care to think about. He struggled to regain his focus, feeling the danger present to one of his gunships. "Ah, gunship Zeta 24," he managed. "Evade to your portside, now!" He cried out again, almost collapsing to his knee. He could his nose bleeding and even his eye bulging from their sockets.

"25,000 metres to target." Lyra sounded off again.

Jace's body almost started to convulse, in fact, the entire universe felt as if it was shaking, making the convulsing feeling worse. His bones felt as if they were about to rattle out of their sockets and he could hear his teeth chatter. Another flash struck his mind as he tried to centre his focus. "Gunship, Zeta 3," he managed, his voice weak and pained. "Emergency manoeuvre to starboard." Jace saw the pilot comply and evade the target lock.

"We have hit atmosphere!" Lyra shouted. "Jace, you can let go."

Jace didn't hear Lyra's words, he had already collapsed to the ground, unconscious and exhausted.

Jedi Temple, Coruscant, before

_The mighty Jedi temple on Coruscant seemed to loom large over the endless city planet. Ten-year-old Jace sat on the steep steps outside the main temple, wiping his tears and clenching his fists in anger. His teachings had told him of the danger anger presented to a Jedi Knight's focus but Jace was frustrated. It had been a normal day of Force exercise with Jace helping a friend hone his skills. Then the bullies had tried to hurt and Jace thought he had managed to drive them off with a few choice words. But then the bullies had set upon him in the refresher, beating him repeatedly and pushing him into the wall. They had turned to violence when Jace had returned their barbs with his own witticisms, a trait he had picked up from his father. Once the bullies turned to violence, Jace knew there were two options: let them continue or strike. He chose the latter and telekinetically slammed a nautolan bully into a wall. The action had the drawn the attention of the bullies' masters who chased Jace out of the temple, forcing him to think about his actions. The frustration set in again and Jace felt anger but this time it felt like a hot burning within him, searing his insides. He looked down at his hands and found them aflame, glowing an intense orange. At first, he was afraid until he realised the flames weren't burning his small hands. _

"_Pyrokinesis, an advanced technique, one the Jedi have not seen for many generations."_

_The rumbling voice of Jace's master warmed his heart as he turned to face him, standing just a foot behind. Ardin Corath was a tower of Kel Dor power, standing well over six feet with large biceps and a broad chest. He wore a standard black Jedi robe over a set of ornate silver armour with two, slightly larger than average, lightsabres attached to his belt. Like all Kel Dor away from their home planet, he wore a breather mask so he could function on an oxygen rich planet. Ardin Corath wasn't known for his tact, like most Kel Dor, he preferred to be blunt, speaking his mind to any without fear or cause for concern. Taking Jace as his adoptive son and apprentice was an out of field move for the fiery Jedi Guardian. Fatherhood wasn't easy for him, but he saw within the boy tremendous potential. But the potential wasn't the noticeable factor: it was Jace's inherent personality. Despite being alone in the temple, Jace was known for his empathy and need to look after his friends. Ardin had encouraged that part of Jace, wanting to develop a keen protector instinct so he could fight for something other than personal gratification. Ardin's own journey into the Jedi order had been unconventional so maybe he saw within the lost child a chance to repay a kindness the order had shown him. _

"_Master?" Jace said softly before turning away. "Are you going to scold me?"_

_Ardin gave a warm chuckle before using The Force to levitate Jace towards him. "Scolding you would only succeed in driving you further away and fuelling your resentment. Something I do not want." He collected his hands in the small of his back. "But, while I'm not angry with you, I must council you on your anger."_

_Jace glanced over at his master, taking a step towards but still a small distance away. "I know master, I know. But the bullies are getting worse." He clenched his small hands again. "They went after Melos again, just because he couldn't lift a cup in telekinesis exercises. I told them to back off and then they said I was a failure, so much so that my parents didn't want me. That I'll never have a family. _

_Ardin smiled warmly, shaking his head. "Am I not your father?"_

_Jace was initially confused as he searched his mind for an answer. "Yeah, but we don't look anything alike."_

_Ardin conceded his apprentice's point with a slow nod. "True, I'm far better looking." Jace gave a small laugh, letting go of his brooding look for a moment. Ardin gently sat on a step, beckoning Jace forward. "I found you, my boy, right here." He said pointing at a nearby step. "As soon as I set eyes upon you, I knew you would be my son. I knew it would be difficult, taking in a human child in who hadn't known love before. But I couldn't deny the feeling I felt for you: pity, love, warmth. And now, every time I see you train, every time I see you surpass your limits, I'm reminded of how proud I am." He used a dismissive gesture. "Those bullies are nothing, mere spoilt brats that want the title of Jedi for nothing more than status so their equally spoilt parents will have some semblance of dignity. They will never be able to understand who you are and for that, you'll always be their enemy."_

"_Are you sure, master?" Jace asked softly, a few tears beginning to form in his eyes. _

_Ardin smiled. "As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow. Know this, my son, wherever you will be, whatever insurmountable task is set before you, I will always be near. You only need to call for me through the Force."_

_Jace wiped his tears and hugged his master dearly. "Thank you, father."_

_Ardin stood slowly and ruffled Jace's hair. "Let's show these boys why they shouldn't cross a pair of tricksters."_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N - Woo, early upload! What a difference coffee makes. Anyway, this chapter is longer than the last three and may be the longest of the series. Don't hold me to that. Enjoy!_

Chapter Four

_Kosis Prime capital city, Deyom_

Jace awoke slowly, hazy but at peace and finding himself in the dimly lit gunship. A few shafts of sunlight were coming through the main windows at the front of the ship, warming his face. The dull pain in his mind was beginning to abate as he began to regain his senses and faculties. He glanced around at his surroundings, the spartan gunship seeming cold and foreboding. He focused on the inner peace he now felt, he willed himself to defy gravity and bring himself upright. He gently landed and rubbed his neck, relieving the tension before cracking it. He took slow deliberate steps, letting his sense of balance return before making his way to the flight deck. He found his lightsabre resting on the on the left seat and retrieved it, accepting the cool metallic hilt with a sense of purpose. With a gesture, he opened the door and exited the gunship, finding Snicks and other troopers surrounding the Captain of the company. The Captain was in an intense but diplomatic discussion with a representative from the city. Snicks spotted Jace and politely alerted his Captain.

"Captain, the Commander's up and about."

The captain, a human male of average height with close cut black hair and blue eyes, wearing specialised commando armour with two blaster pistol holsters, nodded at Jace. "Sir, I'm Captain Davos Ankeris. It's a pleasure."

Jace shook his head. "Pleasure's all mine captain. I hope your ride in was better than ours."

Ankeris smiled grimly. "We barely made it off our frigate before it was shot down. My Commander is out on recon at the moment, trying to scout possible Sith landing sights."

Jace looked past the troopers and at the nearby city. "How's the city holding up?"

Davos shrugged slightly with a hopeful expression. "Surprisingly well. The city was built with defending an invasion in mind, giving us a tactical advantage. According to the history holos, the city was resilient to besiegement during the unification wars. We're going to use that when the Sith come a knocking."

"Gentlemen." A light female voice called out. Jace glanced over at the city's representative and greeted her politely. She was a togruta female with rusty blue skin and white pigments over her face. She was just above average height and wore a dignified dress with a blaster strapped to her belt. "Master Jedi, my name is Solah Taalaks, the council head of Deyom at this current time. I am glad you are still with us."

Jace bowed slightly, showing respect. "The honour is mine, Ma'am. We are here to assist in any way possible."

She gave a polite smile. "I thank you for your aid but you and I both know this won't be a battle we can't win." She glanced away for a moment before whispering. "After you made planet fall, we received word that your battle group, what was left of it, jumped away."

Jace nodded. "As ordered."

She was stunned for a moment before frowning. "Why would you do that?"

Jace remained calm and focused. "We were overwhelmed and had minimal forces after the initial battle. If they stayed, more would have lost their lives." He paused briefly. "My thought was that our captain would return with more ships and drive off the remaining Imperial Navy ships. Till that happens,, we will hold this position, no matter what."

"Forgive me, Master Jedi, but that seems incredibly naïve. You have not the forces to hold back the Sith." Solah said bluntly.

"With respect, ma'am, my forces are ready to defend this city and this planet. We have two Jedi and a assortment of troops capable of fighting this battle." Davos interjected.

Davos nodded. "Right sir, we'll get started on fortifying our forces."

Solah wanted to protest but she knew she had other things to worry about. "I will tell our citizens to prepare for evacuation and war."

Jace nodded as she walked away with a red protocol droid. He glanced back at Davos. "Were you lying?"

"Can't Jedi tell that sort of thing?" He said with a smirk.

Jace returned the smirk. "Unfortunately, I'm not good at that sort of thing." His face hardened. "Can we hold this city?"

Davos sighed hard. "In my experience, sir, battles like this aren't usually won, it's just a drawn-out execution. I'll fortify the city as best as I can and I'll fight till the last man but, if we don't get reinforcements, we'll lose."

Jace appreciated Davos's frank assessment. "So you were just giving her hope?"

Davos looked away. "Maybe or maybe she knows the truth and it's easier for her to believe us for a bit longer. She'll essentially have to lie to her people." Davos shook his head. "That's not an easy thing."

Jace was sobered by Davos's words; it sounded as if they came from experience and reminded him of how he was out of his debt. "Where's your commander?"

"Aw, c'mon Jace, we're old friends, no need to be so formal."

The husky feminine voice brought back a flood of happy memories that filled him with warmth. "Alia?" He asked, glancing over at the source.

Alia Talsa was a Twi'lek women of average height with beautiful blue skin, a toned build and bright blue eyes. As with all Twi'leks, her head tails rested comfortable on her shoulders. She wore a set of sleek silver Jedi armour with lightsabre firmly attached to her belt. Instead of replying to Jace, she jogged towards him and embraced him warmly, giving a almost crushing squeeze. Jace was admittedly surprised, not being one for public displays of affections but warmed slowly and responded with a squeeze, lingering for a moment. He hadn't seen Alia for a year or so, ever since they had completed the Knight trials. Before that, they had been close friends, growing up together in the temple and sharing a sense of isolation. Jace had briefly gone through a period where he wore a old battered temple guard mask to conceal his face. He found it gave him a quiet form of confidence, knowing that his training was rigorous and that his fellow padawans thought him nothing but a masked stranger. That changed when the rambunctious Alia knocked it off and told him to stop hiding. Compared to Jace, Alia was warm and compassionate to all. That was not to say Jace wasn't, but she clearly was the more extroverted of the pair. At first, Jace and Alia's Masters were confused to say the least, but they slowly saw how much they complimented each other. Jace was Alia's resolve and Alia was Jace's confidence. From then on, they had been the closest of friends.

"It's me, dummy." She said, a little surprised at his embrace but obviously happy.

Jace rolled his eyes and scoffed as they drew apart. "C'mon, Alia, hasn't that nickname run its course?"

She shook her head and winked. "I haven't found a better one yet."

Jace chuckled softly. "I didn't think I'd see you here, especially for a battle like this."

Alia smirked. "I did leave you a few messages, but I guess you've been busy."

Jace nodded. "I haven't been back to the temple in six months. I should have had them forwarded. My bad."

"Getting slow in your old age?" She said with a smile and giving a soft playful hit. She gazed up at the sky where she could make out a few Imperial cruisers.

Alia smiled and hit him playfully. "Of course, it is." She looked up at the sky where she could make out the ships in orbit. "Guess they're not leaving. How are we stopping them?"

Jace looked at the ships and pursed his lips. "If we fortify this city with whatever heavy equipment we have, we can mitigate any damage done in the first attack. After that, it'll turn into a battle of attrition."

"You sound like you've been reading up on tactical plans."

Jace shrugged. "Master Ardin wouldn't let me take this mission if I didn't brush up on my knowledge." He paused. "Besides, he was supposed to be coming with me."

"He got called away?"

Jace nodded.

Alia looked away for a moment. "Even with that plan, the Sith have already begun landing troops. We recently got word one of the southern cities fell an hour or so ago."

"An hour ago?!" Jace said, audibly surprised.

Alia nodded sadly. "It happened too quickly for us to do anything. We sent a division of troops but they were routed in minutes. The city's survivors are apparently heading for Deyom."

Jace thought hard, weighing his options. "What did your recon reveal?"

"Sith forces are gathering not far from here." She said, her face growing dark. "Jace, they brought an armada." She gave a grim smile. "They never do anything in half measures. Recon revealed tanks, walkers, even a few close air support units. But we may have a way to throw a hydrospanner in the works."

"Go on."

"Our recon units are top class Republic special forces. They elected to stay behind to see if they could thin the herd. They've been waiting for a few days."

"Gives us a chance take the wind out of their sails." Jace said, thinking aloud." Captain, your thoughts?"

"If we can take the walkers down, we could mount a sizeable force to blunt their attack and buy us time." Davos scratched his chin. "It could work."

"Would you suggest taking any vehicles?" Jace asked.

"Not for this." Davos said. "We've got precious few heavy vehicles and if the snipers take down the walkers, we'll get by with heavy weapons."

"Understood."

Alia looked back at Jace. "There are unconfirmed reports that two Sith warriors are planet side. They'll be difficult."

Jace silently agreed; he was confident that he could fight them but winning was a whole different thing. He sighed hard. "Call those snipers, we've got hunting to do."

_Outskirts of Deyom_

Republic Sniper Alowill Ralsaff lay almost completely still, covered head to toe in specialised camouflage armour, watching his targets. He was a good ten kilometres from them, but his advanced scope narrowed the distance down with ease. His specially designed blaster rifle was set in sniper format and fire power laser blasts, capable of detonating on impact. It's effect on normal beings was quite devastating and Ralsaff always felt slightly disturbed at its effects. But for taking down heavy armour, it was his best friend. Ralsaff was something of a local, being born and raised in the city of Orelia, on the southern hemisphere of the planet. He'd joined the Republic's army at 18 and rapidly risen through the ranks, earning himself medals and volunteering for further combat training. His shift from frontline soldier to specialist sniper was perfect for some one with his near supernatural aiming skill. His Miraluka spotter, Xaram was best known for his silent stoic demeanour but incredible precision when it came to finding the perfect shot. Being a miraluka, Xaram did not see in the same way other beings did and it did sometimes unnerve Alowill. Nevertheless, Xaram had never steered Alowill wrong and the two had forged an strong working partnership. Alowill focused his scope on the pair of large Sith walkers which were surrounded by a group of Sith troops. Despite appearing gaudy and intimidating, the walker's fuel cell was ironically under armoured and a well-placed shot could ignite the walker's frame. The resulting explosion could put a sizeable dent in the invasion force.

"Xaram," he said, without taking his eyes of his scope. "That big Sith Warrior, you see him?"

Xaram's own macrobinoculars were designed to facilitate his spectrum of vision vision. Instead of showing simple magnified images, Xaram could see the auras of living beings simply magnified further. Xaram himself sometimes doubted The Force's existence but when he laid eyes on the Sith warrior before him and saw only red, it reaffirmed his belief in evil. "Yeah, one, a big one as well. From what I can tell, he's on his own at the moment. Think he's trying to arrange his troops."

Alowill zoomed in on the near seven-foot-tall Sith warrior, shrouded in darkness, wearing heavy armour and a long black cloak. Even with his weapon and being at a decent distance, Alowil wasn't sure his rifle could kill the warrior. He'd probably use some Sith magic to deflect the blast back at Alowil's position. "Can't afford to take the shot." He concluded as he refocused on the walker. His comm unit suddenly beeped. "Go ahead."

"Sergeant Ralsaff, this is Jedi Commander Jace Corath, status update."

"Sith forces are maintaining position. We have confirmation of one Sith warrior and enough power to take the city."

There was a pause. "Can you thin the herd without revealing yourself? We have a plan to meet their forces head on and we could use all the advantages you can give us."

Alowil glanced back at the pair of camoflagued speeder bikes behind him. "Even if we're spotted, we've got an escape route. When do you need the thinning done?"

"Within the next three minutes."

Alowil smiled to himself as he gave Xaram the all clear to ready the speeder bikes. "Roger that, sir, beginning distraction." Alowill targeted the walker, homed in and took a deep breath, steadying his rifle. He exhaled slowly and let his finger hover over the trigger. He took another breath, checked his target and fired off the laser blast, watching as the fuel cell took two walkers and a large number of troops.

_Near the staging area_

The journey to the Sith's staging area had been one of silence with the troops moving silently and swiftly. Jace had made his call just as they had arrived and it had given Captain Ankeris and his troops time to take position. He unclipped his lightsabre from his belt and took a final look around at the forty odd troops with him. He centred himself, focusing on his serenity and drew upon old memories, fleeting moments of peace. The Force began to flow through him, tightening his muscles and focusing his senses. There was a sudden crack as a thunderous explosion rippled throughout the air. Jace peaked from his cover and watched the walker's legs buckle and give way, crashing into a nearby walker. He smiled, igniting his lightsabre and letting the neon blue blade shine over his face. He stood tall and proclaimed in a loud voice.

"Charge!"

The Republic troopers roared in unison, catching the Sith troopers unaware and opened fire. Jace rushed forward, dancing between bolts of lights and deflecting those that got too close. The first trooper died before he even realised Jace was in front of him. His squad mates noticed Jace and attacked with their blasters and close quarters combat weapons but were easily defeated. Jace released a titanic burst of telekinetic energy that sent more troopers hurtling hundreds of metres away. For Jace's first solo combat experience, he thought he was gaining ground and keeping his men alive. His senses were slowly being overwhelmed but he could still process all oncoming threats. That was until the thermal detonator blew up and everything went dark.

"Jace, commander, wake up!"

The haze finally lifted as Snicks's words got through and jolted Jace up. He groaned in pain, gingerly feeling his side and finding two of his ribs were broken. He summoned The Force back to him and drowned out the pain before setting his ribs and holding them in place. His entire body felt as if it was on fire and standing was out of the question. He clenched his right hand, expecting to feel the cool refreshing metal hilt of his lightsabre but found nothing instead. He tried to reach out for it but found himself distracted by Snicks.

"Holy stang, Jace." He said in between returning fire. "Are you okay?"

"Just about." He muttered just loudly enough for Snicks to hear. He glanced around and found dead Republic troopers surrounding him. "Snicks, what's happening?"

"We got ambushed. They must have gotten reinforcements. Our sniper buddies let us know that gunships were heading to our position. Ankeris is ordering a retreat and, wait, Jace look out!"

Fortunately, Jace's senses had returned and he'd anticipated the crimson blade that almost destroyed his brain. He shifted to the right and directed his gaze to the large Sith Warrior above him. He quickly grabbed the warrior's sabre arm with both hands and brought both his legs up, jamming them into his arm pit. The warrior, a human man standing at seven feet tall with pale black skin and orange eyes, reached down his free left armoured hand and gripped Jace's throat.

He lifted Jace high, much like how Bisk had and snarled. "Little Jedi," he said, his voice deep and booming. "No where for you to run now."

Jace scowled. "I am not running."

Jace employed a similar flip he used against Bisk, pulling the Sith down and pushing him over. He rolled out of the way of the falling warrior and flipped back up. While he didn't have his lightsabre, he could still fight the warrior and maybe survive. If he didn't, the warrior would annihilate Jace's troops and lead his own into Deyom. He took a short run up, leapt and landed a hard-right jab into the warrior's jaw. The Sith was pushed back but quickly composed and responded with a vicious display of lightsabre swings. Jace narrowly avoided the strikes and responded with a round house kicks to the warrior's jaw, drawing blood. The Sith composed himself again and swung at Jace's right arm, hoping to cleave it in two. Jace centred himself, allowing the Force to slow into his arm and absorb the lightsabre's energy. His arm seemed to turn a light blue as the red blade clashed his arm. There was a visible distortion as his began to absorb the blade's energy, but his arm felt as if it was on fire. The Sith drew back and went for another strike, this time putting more force behind it. Jace knew he wouldn't be able to absorb the energy and instead elected to evade. He dropped below the blade and lashed out with a strong right jab into the warrior's stomach. The Sith barely felt the punch but switched sabre hands, coming at Jace's left side. Jace side stepped, grabbed the warrior's arm and landed a hard palm strike onto the warrior's jaw. Without missing a beat, the warrior spat blood, and struck at Jace's right arm with his blade. Again, Jace summoned the Force to absorb the torrent of energy and protect his arm. He was so focused that he almost missed the Sith summoning another lightsabre to his free hand. Jace recognised the neon blue blade and cursed himself for making a stupid mistake. The warrior drove it towards Jace's midsection but Jace caught the blade, absorbing its energy but feeling both blades' heat sear his insides. Sweat began to drop from his brow as the fatigue of battle began to catch up with him.

"Watch as I kill you with your own lightsabre, weakling."

"That blade is not yours to wield, monster, it is mine." Jace retorted.

He knew anger was forbidden but pain and frustration were powerful motivators and they were stirring hate inside him. He was fuelled to end the fight and escape with what was left of his men. He focused, forming a spherical ball of energy against the Sith's midsection. The explosive blast would send them both hurtling away, breaking the tie but it would use up what little power Jace had left. The sphere finally reached its critical mass and Jace willed it to detonate. There was silence first but then the sound caught up and the explosion deafened and sent them both away. The Sith was sent into the wreckage of the destroyed walkers, almost entombed by the flames. Jace coughed painfully, his newly set ribs breaking again as he forced himself up. He summoned his lightsabre, it crashing into his hand with a dull thud.

"Pull back!" He shouted, motioning for his forces to retreat. Jace tired his best to peer through the walker's wreckage and what he saw chilled him to his bone. The Sith warrior, alive and well, grinned through the darkness, his ember eyes glowing softly.

"Sir, Captain Anerkis has met up with the civilians and they're heading for the city. He says they've got injured but they're capable of walking back." Snicks said, still laying support fire down.

Jace leaned on Snicks for support, feeling lightheaded. "Fine, let's get back and attend to the wounded."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N - I'm back with another long chapter. I'm bad at this chapter stuff. But we are half way through this one. This is a little slower than the previous chapter but I'm hoping you'll enjoy nonetheless. I really am grateful for all the readers that are sitting through this stuff. I'm hoping you all enjoy it. Happy reading!_

Chapter Five

_Deyom _

Jace winced audibly as Alia set his ribs again, healing the badly broken bones. The small room he and Alia shared was a makeshift clinic, hastily put together when the troops had returned from the staging area. It was barely large enough for one patient and was woefully underequipped for its purpose. Alia herself had been working nonstop since the civilians and Jace's troops had returned. Jace had insisted the others go before he, using a Jedi technique to speed up his own healing. It was a technique his master had taught him to overcome fatigue and minor wounds, but it hadn't helped. By the time he was seen by Alia, he was exhausted so much so that he could barely walk. Alia had treated him with a stim pack which perked him up before seeing to his wounds. He glanced around and found bloody bandages, empty stim packs and used dermal bacta patches. It was barely ordered chaos in the city of Deyom with Lady Solah desperately pleading with her citizens for calm. It didn't help that the Sith had sent scout fighters to conduct a fly over to intimidate the citizens. Republic walkers had shot down one but the other had managed to escape. The latest tactical output showed that the Sith had all but replaced their lost forces in a matter of hours, further demoralising the Republic forces. The Sith had decided to employ a fear campaign but Jace knew they would take the city soon, it was only a matter of time. Jace had tried to read a few data pad during his mediation but he found his focus was weakened.

"Sorry, Jace, I've had to move your ribs around. You didn't set them right and the one you managed to hold in place almost punctured your lung." Alia said while holding her palms to the left side of Jace's torso.

Jace was always in awe of Alia's healing abilities. She had devoted her training to becoming a Jedi Consular and healer, honing her techniques. She was pacifistic in nature, despite still taking a lightsabre and training daily, albeit with the hope of never using it. She was considered one of the foremost healers of her generation, mastering difficult techniques. Jace still remembered when he had broken his arm attempting to punch a hole into a wall, a fool bet between himself and another apprentice. Alia had quickly set the bone and sped up the healing process. She had scolded him, but he always remembered being in awe of such an incredible power.

"Yeah, well," he winced. "I thought I could hold them still with my telekinesis, but I guess fighting a Sith warrior can split your focus. Besides, I never could get the hand of healing techniques, even the rudimentary ones Master Corath taught me. He never pushed he any further though." Jace suppressed a shrug. "I guess he thought I'd never need them because I'd always finish a fight before I was too badly beaten."

Alia laughed lightly as she finally withdrew her hands from his chest. She poked one of his ribs, eliciting a soft yelp from Jace and sighed contentedly. "Your ribs will be fine but I don't think you'll be able to do anything too strenuous for a few days." She brushed her left head tail from her shoulder and moved Jace's right arm. "Alright, let's fix the burns."

"Burns?" Jace inquired. He finally looked at his right arm and almost vomited at the sight. From his wrist to his elbow, his arm was covered in severe third-degree burns. The smell of sizzled flesh made him gag and he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. He'd managed to absorb the majority of the lightsabre's energy and had saved his arm from being cleaved in two but the he hadn't expected the burns.

Alia's hands lit up a light blue as she held them close to his arm. "You managed to absorb the energy, but you held it too long. Master Corath must have taught you to expel it as soon as possible but you held on to it." She grimaced slightly. "Any longer and you would have melted the skin and flesh right of your arm."

Jace bit his lip as he felt a slight stinging from the burns. "Can you fix it?" He asked.

Alia frowned, giving a soft sight but still in deep concentration. "I can repair most of the damage, but you'll have a permanent patch below your elbow. Ideally, we'd put you in a bacta tank for a day or so, but we don't have that sort of time. This'll have to do."

Jace noticed Alia's sadness and aguish at his wounds as well as her concern. She was both angry and upset at his recklessness, something he knew he had been in his fight. He used his free left hand to caress her cheek. "I'm sorry," She looked up for a brief moment. "I know you worry."

She swallowed, doing her best to regain of her emotions, something she was talented at, but her eyes welled up. "Jace, you can't just run head first into danger. Master Corath taught you well but you're not invincible. You should've retreated before engaging the Sith or at least ordered them to open fire. I mean, you fought him without your sabre."

Jace wiped a tear away from her eye, gently rubbing her cheek. "Alia, I wouldn't have done it without a good reason. You know how I've always been, I see a situation and people in danger and I just run toward it. That's what Master Corath taught me to do best. If I hadn't of engaged the Sith, I would've lost all my troops. I couldn't let that happen."

She nodded, still focusing on healing his burns. "I know, Jace, I know that." She paused briefly, collecting her thoughts and regaining her composure. "We've always been together, Jace, even when we were both alone in the temple. We kept each safe and calm. I, I just don't like this war. It's changing everything and I'm afraid it's changing us."

He silently agreed with her, knowing that despite training to be a warrior, Jedi were not soldiers. The reason they fought in the war was to preserve the Republic and halt the tyranny of the Sith empire. But the more they fought,, the more they lost their way and took more actions that seemed aligned to the dark. Jace's own Master, despite being a mighty warrior, was one of the foremost criticisers of the war, finding that the Jedi should be focused on ending it. It often started spirited debate about possible assassinations and counter espionage. It was a Jedi's mandate to seek peace in all things, even in war time, only ever attacking when attacked. The Masters of the council had realised that as the Great War dragged on, the Jedi would have to adapt and become more ruthless. For Jedi who had sworn to help others and fulfil a pacifistic role, it was becoming to difficult to rationalise their actions.

Jace spared a glance at his arm and found it almost completely healed with the small burn patch just blow his elbow. He looked up and Ali and found her eyes drooping but her hands were still awash in a ethereal blue light. She was running out of power and she was taxing her already depleted reserves. He gently took her hands in his own left and pulled them away softly. "You can stop now." He said, looking deeply into her beautiful blue eyes.

She sighed tiredly, her eyes looking heavy. "I'm tried, Jace. I've seen so much death today." She said, tears finally began to drop from her eyes. "I can't see yours as well."

He pulled her close, shushing her concerns. "I'm not going away, Alia. I'm always going to be here."

She buried her head in his chest, sighing contentedly and centring herself, trying to reduce her exhaustion. Jace picked her up slowly and carried her to a nearby clean gurney, the last in the building, and laid her down softly. Within seconds, she slipped into sleep, peaceful and unaware of everything around her. Jace smiled and approached his armour, battle scarred and worn but still holding up. He place it back on before commanding his lightsabre back to his belt. He opened the door with a quick swipe and let it close slowly to avoid making a sound. A nearby nurse walked by and Jace stopped him.

"The Jedi healer is getting some rest. Can you make sure anyone who needs help comes to you first?"

The young man nodded. "Yes sir, she's done some fine work today. Without her, most of our patients would have died."

Jace nodded and walked off down the corridor. The corridor itself was lined with Republic troopers, all who appeared shell-shocked and worn. Most had bandages with some having bandages that covered their faces. More still were lying on repulsor lifted gurneys, most being unconscious but a few were still able to respond to basic commands. Jace regarded them for all as they tried to stand too attention as if they were expecting him to issue orders. He shook his head, saying nothing but letting them it was okay to rest. None of his men looked ready for another battle, it wasn't a slight against them, it was the truth. They needed reinforcements and to be rearmed but Jace knew it was folly to give them that much hope. The best they could do was take a minute to breathe and wait for the next attack. He noticed a weary Bisk slumping next to the wall, as if his own weight was too much for him to bear.

"You okay, Bisk?" Jace asked.

The trandoshian struggled to smile as he stood slightly straighter. "Still standing, sir."

Jace placed his hand on his shoulder and nodded. "Get some rest, big guy."

Bisk nodded and slowly slumped to the ground, giving his legs some much needed rest. Jace slowly filed through the corridor, using the wall as support as he got his strength back and then finally walking without aid. His dizziness was wearing off as he arrived at a large room with a central computer projecting a hologram. Surrounding the console were Captain Ankeris, Snicks, Solah, all viewing the map which was showing the last position of the Sith strike force. Snicks noticed Jace and nodded at him before alerting his captain.

Davos glanced away from the console and at Jace. He gave a brief nod. "Commander, it's good to see you up and about. You weren't in a good way when your returned."

Jace nodded. "I know and I'm sorry that the operation went as badly as it did. But I'm back to 100% now."

Davos dismissed his apology. "It's okay sir, the battle didn't go as we planned." He muttered the next part. "They rarely do."

"You managed to complete the mission though," Solah offered. "You've brought us all time and for that, we are thankful." She looked around for a moment. "This is a judiciary building, where we would discuss matters of law and how to keep our citizens safe. But with the Sith on our door step, we refitted it into a war room."

Jace arched an eyebrow. "Not many political concerns at the moment." He uttered dryly.

Solah offered a grim smile at Jace's comments. "It's all too telling how war rearranges our priorities. I'm sure you've seen the same."

Jace stroked his chin slowly. "We lose site of the things we're meant to do and what we're meant to protect."

She agreed with his statement. "I need to win this battle, not for pride, not for honour, but for my people. But this battle," She said looking back at the map. "Isn't going well."

Jace consider the map for a moment, pressing a few keys on the console and widening the map to a planetary scale. He took in the various gunships and shuttle that were in the process of landing on Kosis. He grimaced at the shear scale of the Sith's forces. "A full invasion." He said softly.

Solah answered first. "We think they're gearing up for a bombing run first before marching on the city."

"You said the city's never been breached before?" Jace asked.

"The city's has never faced repeated bombing runs before. I imagine they'll use them bombing to soften up the city's defences first."

Ankeris agreed. "That would be my first port of call. They know it's practically suicide to try invading a city built to resist invasion. With all the different sniper nests, turret emplacements and general ambush sites, we'd be able to thin them out."

Solah scratched her chin with her right forefinger while clenching and unclenching her left hand. "Master Corath, would you be able to project a forcefield around the city to ward off any bombing attempts?"

Jace frowned. "I mean, I could, I've done it before in practice sessions. But how long I can hold that field is a different story all together." He entered another command, focusing the hologram to the centre of the city and adding a few Sith strike fighters. "Assuming I stand here and begin projecting the field and assuming they use the same models, they'll be peppering the city with laser cannon fire used to damage war ships. I can ward that fire half for a maybe half a standard hour but after that I run the risk of weakening the field and only protecting certain parts of the city. Eventually I'll weaken and fail." Everyone appeared crest fallen but Jace held up an idea. "I do have an alternative."

Ankeris eagerly awaited the alternative. "Go ahead."

Jace added a few more variables to the battlefield, placing some extra units, namely the walkers they'd managed to land. "We've still got three walkers, all armed with heavy turbolasers and laser cannons. They could provide some anti-air fire while we evacuate the city."

"Evacuate?" Solah asked, a sad frown spreading over her face.

"You need to get as many of the people out as you can, at least before the Sith invade." Jace said. "It'll give us time to hold them back and fight the battle on our terms."

"I see," Solah said. "The Sith would purposely target the people to draw your attention."

Jace nodded. "And it would work. We'd lose the battle before it even began."

"Sirs!" A voice called out, belonging to a slender male twi'lek. The entire assembly turned to face the young the man with Solah gesturing for he to deliver his report. "A scout has reported the Sith are going to attempt a ground invasion while they bomb the city."

"Dammit." Ankeris said, his deep voice filling the room. He exhaled forcefully. "Just as we feared. Right, we follow the commander's plan and focus on the air threat first. I can take a group of soldiers on speeder bikes to slow the ground forces down. Meanwhile, Commander Alia can guide the evacuees out of the city while Commander Corath directs the anti-air operation."

"Captain, wouldn't I be of more use on the front lines?" Jace asked.

Ankeris smiled grimly while walking towards Jace and speaking in a hushed tone. "Sir, with respect, we need our best ready for the greater fight that's about to come. The charge I lead will be to buy time not make a dent."

Jace was shocked; as a Jedi, he held all life in high regard. "Captain, I cannot condone this route of conduct."

"With respect, sir, this is the nature of war. War, especially this one, requires sacrifice. If it buys the civies time, then the we'll be glad to do our part." Ankeris saluted crisply, standing tall and holding his blaster pistol in his right hand. "It's been an honour sir, but don't tell the Commander. Not yet."

Jace's heart sank, knowing he was right, and that Alia would demand to follow him. He nodded solemnly. "Good luck, Captain."

Ankeris nodded at Jace and then at Solah before walking out to prepare his charge. Jace looked at Snicks first and then at Solah. "Ma'am, I think you should retreat. With all due respect, there's nothing you can do here. Make sure you people are ready to move as soon as we give the signal."

She nodded, taking Jace's hand. "Thank you, Commander." She sighed. "We're going to lose but at least I know you will do your best."

Jace kept a calm front up as she left the building with her assistant. Snicks leaned against the holo-table, clearly exhausted. "Why don't you get some rest, Snicks?"

He tried to resist but he almost fell. "Yeah, I think you're right." He stopped for a moment, looking at his shaking hand. "I'm still scared, man."

Jace smiled sadly, showing his own shaking hand. "Same here, but we're going to get through this."

Snicks gave a soft smile. "You know, I never had a brother, Jace. Mainly have sisters but, if I had a brother, I'd want him to be like you."

Jace smiled. "I have no family, Snicks, but I'd gladly call you brother."

When he left, Jace exhaled slowly, realising he had some time to himself. He took the nearby elevator to the roof of the building. Though it was rather modest when compared to the enormous skyscrapers of Coruscant, it was still the tallest building in the city. He gazed up at space, trying to count the numerous Imperial Naval ships. All of them were foreboding, an obvious design choice to strike fear in whatever populace they appeared over. Jace stretched his arms above him and reached for the ships, almost as if he was trying to claw them out of the sky. He chuckled to himself; even his own master wouldn't be capable of such a feat. Though it would be useful for his current predicament. Instead he focused on his fingertips, breathing slowly and slowing his heartbeat until he heard a soft rustle. He moved his fingers around the air, trailing flames and creating a pattern around him. When Jace had first discovered his pyrokinetic talents, they had been dependent on how angry or upset he was. However, with training, he'd learnt to use it in tandem with serenity. Now he could light his entire body aflame and use it as a method of meditation. He barely noticed that he was projecting jets of flame around him and causing them to whip around. With one final move, he projected a torrent of flame into the sky, almost like a signal flare for all to see. He exhaled slowly and found his sense of peace before returning back to the lower floors. He activated his comm link and called the APC column.

"Walker officer, this is Commander Corath, how goes the formation?"

"Sir, this is Sergeant Phiandr Corbal, we've set up a series of walkers in different locations. Our group is holding in the city centre. We await your arrival."

"Copy that, I'm on my way." Jace deactivated his comm link and headed back to the small medical ward. Most of the troopers had filed out to another part of the building to get a few hours rest before the offensive began. He quietly entered the room and glided over to Alia's case of supplies. She still had an abundance of combat stims for any who needed them. Jace knew she would not agree with him taking one, especially before a battle but Jace needed the edge. He still felt fatigued and he did not have the time for healing trance to recover the rest of his strength. He looked over at Alia, still sleeping and slowly injected the stim. He felt sudden rush of energy so much so that his fingers lit aflame. He exhaled slowly and cracked his neck before placing the empty injector into a nearby waste bin. He walked over to see Alia and gently caressed her cheek.

"I'll see you soon."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N - Okay, I'm back with a shorter chapter. After reviewing what I've got, I've extended to eleven chapters which means we have five left. They wont be as insanely long as the past two. Hope that suits everyone better. Thanks to everyone still reading and enjoy what's to come! Happy reading._

Chapter Six 

_Hours later_

Captain Davos Ankeris was a career soldier, one who had served his republic faithfully since he was a young man. He'd been an angry young man, one who was dangerously close to ruining his life before he decided to join the army. It taught him discipline, focus and above all else, responsibility. With promotion came the chance to swiftly rise through the ranks but Ankeris had found Captain to be his preferred rank. He bonded with the men in his company and had often been able to raise their spirits when all seemed lost. But with rank, came the painful realisation that he would have to send men to their deaths. Many times, he had been heart broken when watching young soldiers die due to following his orders. He'd lost count of the loved ones he'd had to inform about a death of their son, daughter, husband or wife. It wasn't something he ever got used to, but it was something he carried with him as a mark of his service. Regardless of what he could do for his men, regardless of his combat abilities, he and his men would all die one day. Now was one such time but it would be different for he would travel into the abyss with his, all to give the people of Deyom and Kosis time to live. Surprisingly, he wasn't afraid, he would leave behind no family or loved ones, but he would leave a distinguished record of service, one characterised by loyalty to his men and protection of the Republic's citizens. He walked towards his speeder bike, glancing at the settings and make sure it was ready for combat. His was unarmed as where many others but that was simple to solve. He raised his blaster pistol and made sure the charge was full. In total, there were 18 speeder bikes with about five of them being armed. Ankeris looked at the various pilots, quietly upset that most of them were barely out of their teens. But all of them would die for something, at least that's what he told himself.

"MEN!" He shouted, his deep voice drawing his soldiers' attention. "We are at the precipice of the forthcoming battle, one that could decide the very fate of this very city. The Sith invasion force is poised to take this city, kill its inhabitants and drown the planet in blood. For the Republic and our people to have a future where they can live free of this evil, we must stop them here and now." He stood straighter, raising his right hand and blaster pistol into the air. "I ask you to give this you all, my faithful warriors of the Republic, give your hearts for the people of Kosis." In a swift motion, he mounted his speeder bike, revved the engine and roared. "Charge!"

The roars of his men almost drowned out the drone of the speeder bikes and gave him courage as he accelerated towards the oncoming force. He switched his blaster pistol to automatic and opened fire on the unprotected Sith troopers. Sith walkers began to fire on the speeder bike column, their heavy weaponry easily taking out many of his men in an instant. A sudden searing pain erupted in his left arm, forcing him off his speeder bike.

"CAPTAIN!" One of his men shouted.

Ankeris gritted his teeth, forcing himself back up and charging on foot. "Forget about me!" His men were astounded their now one-armed captain was still trying to charge. FOR THE REPUBLIC, CHARGE."

_Inner city_

Consciousness flooded back into Jace's body and his first thought was the severe pain permeating through his body. He groaned softly as he forced himself off the ground and shook the dirty off his armour. Despite the nearly overwhelming pain, there were no visible wounds he could see. He quickly centred himself and forced the pain down, taking a few moments to breathe. Everything had gone wrong almost instantly as the armoured patrol began to set up. The Sith's air attack completed overwhelmed the walkers within seconds and nearly took Jace and his men with them. With seconds to react, Jace erected a telekinetic force field to protect the men he still had left. But the effort had taxed him and knocked him unconscious. He still felt drained, but he was still ready to continue his fight. He glanced around, considering his surroundings. The air attack had left deep wounds in the surrounding buildings and now that the only chance of anti-air repulsion was gone, the fighters were unimpeded in their strafing runs. The entire city seemed to shake and groan every time fighters attacked. Jace knew it was only going to get worse as his danger sense blared like a deafening klaxon. He could feel the Sith ground forcing beginning their city assault and knew it was only a matter of time before the battle kicked into a higher gear.

"Commander?" Snicks asked from behind, his helmet cracked and his armour light flickering. "What's next?"

Jace knew it was pointless staying and trying to recover in the even the least of the damaged walkers. The best thing they could do was aid any civilians they found and move to the evacuation point. "We'll retreat to the evac defence position. If we find any civilians or refugees, we'll bring them with us." The remainder of his troops nodded and began to slowly walk away from the smouldering walker wrecks.

The journey through the city was eerily quiet, despite the chaos and odd laser cannon fire. So far, Jace and his troops hadn't encountered any Sith forces and the fighters were ignoring them. They were either too small to detect or simply insignificant. Jace had decided to take up the rear and let Snicks take point. He kept his lightsabre drawn and though his telepathy wasn't the best, his danger sense was far better than his troops. If there was a surprise attack, Jace would be the first the feel it and react. Still, despite the calm, it wasn't doing Jace's nerves any good. Every creak, every groan of metal threatened to make him lose his focus. He had to keep repeating to himself that Jedi felt no fear in battle and that he must remain in control of his emotions. The entire battle could be lost with one decisive loss of concentration and he'd lose his men. They continued their walk until they heard a soft whimpering which caught Snicks' attention first who went off to investigate. He drew his weapon, knowing full well that the Sith had used injured civilians to draw Jedi and Republic troopers to their deaths. He took a single step at a time as he approached and, after a moment, he signalled the all clear.

"Commander, I think you'll want to see this." Snicks murmured; his voice shaken as if close to tears.

Jace deactivated his lightsabre and approached the area, coming to a full stop when he got closer. He now understood why Snicks sounded so devastated. A small human girl was on her knees, crying incessantly while another human woman, presumably her mother, was trapped under a large piece of rubble that had crushed her lower half. The woman's once vibrant blonde hair now seemed dim and her blue eyes seemed to flicker with the dying embers of life. Jace took a moment to consider the situation; the slab of rubble was made of duracrete and easily liftable, but it was supporting a large pillar that was holding up a devastated building. If Jace attempted to lift it, he'd kill everyone around him as the building collapsed down on them.

The woman slowly looked up at Jace. "J-jedi." She managed weakly.

Jace was crestfallen but he took a quick breath and moved closer. "Yes, ma'am, I'm a Jedi."

"Take her, keep her… safe." She said in between painful gasps while gesturing at her daughter.

The little girl suddenly cried out. "No, mommy, you said the Jedi would save you."

"He is, baby girl." She managed, trying to placate her daughter's devastation. She glanced up at Jace, giving him a pleading look.

"Sir, can't you just lift the rubble?" Snicks asked.

"Look at what she's trapped under, Snicks. I lift that one piece and the building comes down on top of us all. Even if I was somehow able to do that, do you really think she'd survive long enough for us to get her medical attention?" He said without looking at him.

Snicks gulped. "I guess so." He paused. "I, I can't watch this."

Jace inhaled slowly as he extended his hand to the little girl. "C'mon, I can get you out of here."

The little girl furiously shook her head, clinging to her dying mother as if trying to force her from under the rubble. "No, Jedi are superheroes, they can do anything!"

Jace winced softly, steeling himself before lifting the girl up in a swift motion and pulling her away. He took one step away before sparing a final glance at the mother. "What's her name?"

"I-Ila." She managed, a strangely serene, pain-stricken smile covering her face. "Thank you."

Jace could feel her life suddenly out, as if a candle had been extinguished and he instantly numb. Ila suddenly cried out, tears streaming from her eyes as Jace began to walk away. He cradled her as best he could as she desperately tried to reach for her mother's corpse. He glanced at his troops and simply said. "Keep moving, we're not far from the evacuation point."

Ila continued to scream and Jace knew she would either scream herself into a fit or draw the enemy towards them. It was better if she could simply sleep for a while. He gently applied The Force to a pressure point on her right temple with his right index finger and felt her go limp, snoring softly. He held her in one hand, refusing offers from the other soldiers to take her off his hands. He had a feeling that she might feel better if she woke up in familiar arms, at least that was what he hoped.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N - Whew, I'm back. With some trickery (and one or two dark magic sacrifices) I've managed to condense the next few chapters into 2-2500 words, with the exception of chapter eight. Fear not friends, I've finally learned the fine art of thinking with chapters in mind. So, this chapter is a little slower but next week is going to be a little more action driven. Again, thanks for everyone keeping track of this series. It's really hard to make words seem sincere these days what with the prevalence of trolls and sarcasm, but it means a lot that people are checking this out. Without further ado, enjoy and happy reading!_

Chapter Seven

_Near Evac point_

Jace had no idea what he was going to do with a six-year-old in a battle with the Sith. Keeping her alive was going to be hard enough, never mind trying to evacuate all the other refugees. He could simply leave her with some of the other refugees when he arrived at the evac point but she'd still be alone. He frowned as he continued to walk, still hyper focusing his senses to their max, trying to keep an eye on the Sith's advance. There was the odd explosion and turbolaser blast but it wasn't close, leaving Jace to think the battle was getting fierce in other parts of the city. If the Republic troops could fend the Sith forces off for a few hours, Jace could move as many refugees out of the city as possible. Though he was still concerned with where he would move the refugees and how he'd get them out of the city. His thought had kept him so focused that he didn't realise they'd arrived at the evacuation point. The perimeter of the evac point had been set up with defence in mind, though it was largely underwhelming. The sole walker that had survived an encounter with a pair of Sith fighters was a wreck with a dead trooper still sitting in the driver's seat and the main gun torn apart. The inner part of the defensive perimeter at least looked at little more foreboding with steel entrenchments and automated defence turrets. One was a repeating blaster while the other was a slower firing cannon that could probably dent a walker. Overkill but it could take a down a slew of troops with a single shot. The turrets conducted an 180 degree sweep of the battlefield, scanning Jace and his troops, before ignoring them and continuing on. A republic trooper suddenly shouted.

"Identify yourselves!"

"Commander Jace Corath and what's left of the armoured division, coming in." Jace replied as he noticed the troopers all standing down and moving past he and his troops. They conducted a quick sweep of the area behind them, checked the turrets were still charged and returned to their positions.

"Sir, it's good to see you." The trooper said to Jace.

"Likewise." He glanced at the troopers behind him. "Is this it?"

"No sir, we've got a few more in the camp taking a bit of a break and there are some scattered reports of fighting in other parts of the city. We managed to get a few gunships here when we started evacuating but most were shot down."

"Understood," Jace glanced back at his own troops. "Half of you stay here and shore up the defence. The rest of you, get in, get some food and take a minute."

Snicks and half his troops stayed behind while the rest ran past Jace as they entered the chaotic camp. The camp itself was littered with large crates, filled with supplies and various damaged hoverbikes. Most of the civilians were forming slightly chaotic cues to project messages to different parts of the planet while others were trying to talk to different troopers, asking about updates. Jace noticed others trying to get some supplies while a haggard trooper was doing her best to ration what little was left. Jace spotted Bisk, helping issue new rifles to different troopers with charge packs. A large structure resembling a old medical hospital lay just to the rear of the evacuation point, surrounded by a few troopers and medics who were treating minor injuries. Further behind that were a trio of gunship that appeared to have been scuffed by laser fire. Jace was stopped by a large trooper, roughly three inches taller than Jace with athletic build.

"Sir," He said with a nod. "I'm Lieutenant Nivus, the Captain's," he caught himself with a quick shake of the head, "the former Captain's second in command." He glanced away for a moment. "Before his charge, he made me go with Commander Talsa to organise the evac."

Jace nodded solemnly, trying to avoid making any move that would wake Ila up. "Have you heard anything from the Captain?"

Nivus shook his head slowly. "We kept the channel open for as long as we could, but we've heard nothing. We assumed he died." He said curtly.

"I'm sorry." Jace offered.

Nivus glanced upward. "I would've followed him to the gates of hell itself, but I realise that at this present time, the last thing we need is more dead heroes."

"Is there anything we can do?" Jace didn't want come across as patronising by offering any cliched platitudes so he opted for some form of action which thought Nivus would accept.

Nivus looked over Jace's shoulder at his troops and then glanced back at Jace. "I have a plan to buy us some time and some breathing room. We can discuss it after you've settled that girl down. My troops at the front and rear are pretty covered at the moment so as soon as your men are able, they can reinforce them."

"Understood. Is there anything else?"

"Commander Tasla wishes to speak to you."

Jace nodded and gestured with his right hand for his men to get some food. He walked past the lieutenant, straight into old hospital building, noting it's near dilapidated state and various condemned signs. Jace didn't dare think about the numerous Republic health violations, Alia and the other medics were committing but desperate times often made those impossible to follow. The lobby of the building was mostly filled with minor injuries and concerns which could be treated with a bacta pack or a bandage. There were a few medics gathered by a small reception desk, all exhausted and some covered with patches of blood. They glanced over at Jace and quickly tried to stand to attention but Jace dismissed the effort, letting them take a moment. The disparity of the scene got under Jace's skin, forcing him to consider how many people could die over the next few hours. He wanted desperately to take a moment to breathe but he still had things he needed to do. He walked past the main desk, heading down a corridor and found a large ward that was full of patients. Most appeared to be in critical condition but Jace found three encased in a pale blue field with Alia sitting amongst them. Her concentration was so great that she was floating in the air, sweat pouring from her brow. The technique she was using was an advanced healing method, one that had the ability to reverse even the most severe of injuries. However, performing it on three people with life threatening wounds was far too much for one person. Alia's skin had turned a paler blue and her breathing was shallow, but she managed a weak smile as she glanced up at Jace.

"Alia, you can't sustain this." Jace said softly.

Still sweating profusely, Alia was powering through her exhaustion. "I only need a few more seconds and they'll be out of immediate danger." The second passed like an eternity but finally she sighed as the blue fields faded. On cue a pair of medics arrived with three gurneys and took the patients away. Alia gently lowered herself, trying to stand but finding her legs almost useless. With a thought, Jace summoned a chair so she could sit down. Alia gave a slight shake of her head. "You know that's not what The Force is for."

Jace subtly rolled his eyes. "My hands are a little full." He said, drawing attention to the still sleeping six-year-old.

Alia's eyes widened slowly and whispered, careful not to wake the child up. "What happened?"

Jace took a deep breath and told Alia of the fallen building, the girl's dying mother and the final request. "Alia, her cries are going to haunt me till the day I die."

Alia took his arm, gently caressing it wither right hand. "We're going to be okay, Jace." A sudden rumble caused the hospital to shake slightly sending the lights into a sporadic frenzy before they stabilised.

"They're still bombing the city." Jace said as he glanced up.

"Did you manage to stop any of the bombers?" She asked, her face seeming to regain some of its colour.

Jace frowned sadly, giving a shake off his head. "We shot about six down before the walkers were annihilated. We got calls that the other walker groups were in full retreat. It happened so fast, Alia. It was brutal."

She motioned for he to sit down on a nearby gurney. "You should get some, rest."

Jace smiled softly. "I will but I need to see lieutenant Nivus before I do anything else." He gently unwrapped Ila's arm from his shoulder and placed her on the gurney. "Look after her," he stared directly into Alia's eyes. "please."

She nodded, wrapping a small blanket over the child and watching as Jace departed the room. The walk out of the hospital was foreboding as more gurneys flooded in, bringing with them more injured troopers. He took a right and walked past a burnt out speeder, finding Lieutenant Nivus and a trio of Republic pilots. Nivus spotted Jace and nodded in his direction.

"Gentlemen, this is Commander Corath."

A human pilot, a stocky man with brown hair and black eyes, wearing a orange pilot suit nodded at Jace. "Sir, I'm Wing Commander Aldcra Pavywic," he gestured towards his colleagues a tall mirialan woman and a burly male iktotchi. "These are my colleagues Ibeni and Molnum Chaza."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Jace said as he looked at Nivus. "I suppose this is the plan you were talking about."

Nivus nodded. "These three are fighter pilots but are capable of flying anything."

Aldcra nodded. "If it's got wings, we can fly it."

Nivus subtly rolled his eyes. "Simply stating, they're part of my plan to buy us time."

"Do enlighten me." Jace said.

"Essentially we have a trio of Rendaran gunships, all armed with laser cannons and concussion missiles. The Sith forces are beginning to consolidate their power in the city and we desperately need some breathing room." Nivus argued.

"That's where you three come in, isn't it Wing Commander?" Jace said glancing at Aldcra.

Aldcra gave a wry smile. "You bet. My team and I are going to do some bombing runs. We can take out any heavy weaponry and vehicles while thinning out the troops."

"Couldn't we use the gunships to escape the planet?" Jace asked, though he somehow knew the it wouldn't be possible.

The Large Iktotchi shook his head and spoke in a deep accented voice. "They haven't got the space for all the civilians that have arrived. What's more, the fighters will cut us down before long."

Ibeni, the tall mirialan woman agreed. "We'd lose more people then we'd save and if we got into space we wouldn't get far. The gunships have no hyperspace drives so we wouldn't be able to escape."

"We need Navy back up if we're going to get off this planet. And at the moment, I don't see that happening," Nivus said bluntly. "We need to look at making this place a defendable position or at least thin their forces out to make our evacuation safer."

Jace considered the information for a moment before glancing away. There had been no recent hails from any friendly ship, meaning Movus had either been denied support or had been sent elsewhere. "Fine, but you three realise this may be a one way trip."

Aldcra smiled grimly. "It's part of the job."

Jace was getting unnerved by sending people to their death but he realised it was something that came with command. "Fine, may The Force be with you all."

The trio snapped a crisp salute, nodded at Nivus and departed quickly. Nivus considered Jace for a moment before saying. "Sir, if I may, you should get some rest. You look exhausted."

Jace nodded. "I'd say the same to you but I suspect you're not that sort."

Nivus smiled. "No sir, I prefer to be awake when death is near."

With that Nivus spun on his heel and returned to a group of troopers, giving them a series of orders. Jace exhaled shakily before returning to the hospital and walking past the ward Alia had been in. He felt a telepathic shuffle that guided him to a small deserted break room of sorts where a sleeping Ila was nestled close to Alia. She glanced up at Jace and smiled softly, indicating for he to sit next to her.

"You look tired."

Jace gave a sad smile. "I've been tired before, Alia. This doesn't feel like that, It feels different."

She returned the sad smile. "I know, I thought our training would have prepared us for this but the shear disparity is brutal. For every person I save, another dies." She sniffled. "It's not fair."

Jace frowned. "I know. Even with all of the combat training Master Corath gave me, I keep losing. I've been in two fights so far and I've barely survived. I have no idea how Master Ardin and the other Masters have fought this war for so long."

Alia took a sharp inhale. "Are we going to die, Jace? Be honest with me, please."

Jace sighed, thinking hard for a minute. "You know us, Alia, as Jedi we're taught not to fear death. It's a natural progression of our life and what awaits us is peace and union with The Force. But I do not think we will make it out. We've heard nothing from our deep space comms, meaning Movus's cry for help fell on deaf ears. Republic Strategic Command has probably deemed this a acceptable loss. I have heard whispers of a shuttle in a nearby town but it's only big enough for fifty occupants and its only capable of two hyperspace jumps. And that's if we even made it that far. So, I," he caught himself as he looked at Alia. "I think we're going to die."

Alia smiled sadly, gave a soft yawn and nodded resolutely. "We're not meant to live forever," she looked at Jace, squeezing his hand. "And this has been a beautiful existence."

Jace squeezed her hand back, drawing close to Alia before kissing her softly. They lingered for a few moments, worrying about nothing but themselves.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N - I'm back with another long chapter. I'm bad at this chapter stuff. But we are half way through this one. This is a little slower than the previous chapter but I'm hoping you'll enjoy nonetheless. I really am grateful for all the readers that are sitting through this stuff. I'm hoping you all enjoy it. Happy reading!_

Chapter Five

_Deyom _

Jace winced audibly as Alia set his ribs again, healing the badly broken bones. The small room he and Alia shared was a makeshift clinic, hastily put together when the troops had returned from the staging area. It was barely large enough for one patient and was woefully underequipped for its purpose. Alia herself had been working nonstop since the civilians and Jace's troops had returned. Jace had insisted the others go before he, using a Jedi technique to speed up his own healing. It was a technique his master had taught him to overcome fatigue and minor wounds, but it hadn't helped. By the time he was seen by Alia, he was exhausted so much so that he could barely walk. Alia had treated him with a stim pack which perked him up before seeing to his wounds. He glanced around and found bloody bandages, empty stim packs and used dermal bacta patches. It was barely ordered chaos in the city of Deyom with Lady Solah desperately pleading with her citizens for calm. It didn't help that the Sith had sent scout fighters to conduct a fly over to intimidate the citizens. Republic walkers had shot down one but the other had managed to escape. The latest tactical output showed that the Sith had all but replaced their lost forces in a matter of hours, further demoralising the Republic forces. The Sith had decided to employ a fear campaign but Jace knew they would take the city soon, it was only a matter of time. Jace had tried to read a few data pad during his mediation but he found his focus was weakened.

"Sorry, Jace, I've had to move your ribs around. You didn't set them right and the one you managed to hold in place almost punctured your lung." Alia said while holding her palms to the left side of Jace's torso.

Jace was always in awe of Alia's healing abilities. She had devoted her training to becoming a Jedi Consular and healer, honing her techniques. She was pacifistic in nature, despite still taking a lightsabre and training daily, albeit with the hope of never using it. She was considered one of the foremost healers of her generation, mastering difficult techniques. Jace still remembered when he had broken his arm attempting to punch a hole into a wall, a fool bet between himself and another apprentice. Alia had quickly set the bone and sped up the healing process. She had scolded him, but he always remembered being in awe of such an incredible power.

"Yeah, well," he winced. "I thought I could hold them still with my telekinesis, but I guess fighting a Sith warrior can split your focus. Besides, I never could get the hand of healing techniques, even the rudimentary ones Master Corath taught me. He never pushed he any further though." Jace suppressed a shrug. "I guess he thought I'd never need them because I'd always finish a fight before I was too badly beaten."

Alia laughed lightly as she finally withdrew her hands from his chest. She poked one of his ribs, eliciting a soft yelp from Jace and sighed contentedly. "Your ribs will be fine but I don't think you'll be able to do anything too strenuous for a few days." She brushed her left head tail from her shoulder and moved Jace's right arm. "Alright, let's fix the burns."

"Burns?" Jace inquired. He finally looked at his right arm and almost vomited at the sight. From his wrist to his elbow, his arm was covered in severe third-degree burns. The smell of sizzled flesh made him gag and he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. He'd managed to absorb the majority of the lightsabre's energy and had saved his arm from being cleaved in two but the he hadn't expected the burns.

Alia's hands lit up a light blue as she held them close to his arm. "You managed to absorb the energy, but you held it too long. Master Corath must have taught you to expel it as soon as possible but you held on to it." She grimaced slightly. "Any longer and you would have melted the skin and flesh right of your arm."

Jace bit his lip as he felt a slight stinging from the burns. "Can you fix it?" He asked.

Alia frowned, giving a soft sight but still in deep concentration. "I can repair most of the damage, but you'll have a permanent patch below your elbow. Ideally, we'd put you in a bacta tank for a day or so, but we don't have that sort of time. This'll have to do."

Jace noticed Alia's sadness and aguish at his wounds as well as her concern. She was both angry and upset at his recklessness, something he knew he had been in his fight. He used his free left hand to caress her cheek. "I'm sorry," She looked up for a brief moment. "I know you worry."

She swallowed, doing her best to regain of her emotions, something she was talented at, but her eyes welled up. "Jace, you can't just run head first into danger. Master Corath taught you well but you're not invincible. You should've retreated before engaging the Sith or at least ordered them to open fire. I mean, you fought him without your sabre."

Jace wiped a tear away from her eye, gently rubbing her cheek. "Alia, I wouldn't have done it without a good reason. You know how I've always been, I see a situation and people in danger and I just run toward it. That's what Master Corath taught me to do best. If I hadn't of engaged the Sith, I would've lost all my troops. I couldn't let that happen."

She nodded, still focusing on healing his burns. "I know, Jace, I know that." She paused briefly, collecting her thoughts and regaining her composure. "We've always been together, Jace, even when we were both alone in the temple. We kept each safe and calm. I, I just don't like this war. It's changing everything and I'm afraid it's changing us."

He silently agreed with her, knowing that despite training to be a warrior, Jedi were not soldiers. The reason they fought in the war was to preserve the Republic and halt the tyranny of the Sith empire. But the more they fought,, the more they lost their way and took more actions that seemed aligned to the dark. Jace's own Master, despite being a mighty warrior, was one of the foremost criticisers of the war, finding that the Jedi should be focused on ending it. It often started spirited debate about possible assassinations and counter espionage. It was a Jedi's mandate to seek peace in all things, even in war time, only ever attacking when attacked. The Masters of the council had realised that as the Great War dragged on, the Jedi would have to adapt and become more ruthless. For Jedi who had sworn to help others and fulfil a pacifistic role, it was becoming to difficult to rationalise their actions.

Jace spared a glance at his arm and found it almost completely healed with the small burn patch just blow his elbow. He looked up and Ali and found her eyes drooping but her hands were still awash in a ethereal blue light. She was running out of power and she was taxing her already depleted reserves. He gently took her hands in his own left and pulled them away softly. "You can stop now." He said, looking deeply into her beautiful blue eyes.

She sighed tiredly, her eyes looking heavy. "I'm tried, Jace. I've seen so much death today." She said, tears finally began to drop from her eyes. "I can't see yours as well."

He pulled her close, shushing her concerns. "I'm not going away, Alia. I'm always going to be here."

She buried her head in his chest, sighing contentedly and centring herself, trying to reduce her exhaustion. Jace picked her up slowly and carried her to a nearby clean gurney, the last in the building, and laid her down softly. Within seconds, she slipped into sleep, peaceful and unaware of everything around her. Jace smiled and approached his armour, battle scarred and worn but still holding up. He place it back on before commanding his lightsabre back to his belt. He opened the door with a quick swipe and let it close slowly to avoid making a sound. A nearby nurse walked by and Jace stopped him.

"The Jedi healer is getting some rest. Can you make sure anyone who needs help comes to you first?"

The young man nodded. "Yes sir, she's done some fine work today. Without her, most of our patients would have died."

Jace nodded and walked off down the corridor. The corridor itself was lined with Republic troopers, all who appeared shell-shocked and worn. Most had bandages with some having bandages that covered their faces. More still were lying on repulsor lifted gurneys, most being unconscious but a few were still able to respond to basic commands. Jace regarded them for all as they tried to stand too attention as if they were expecting him to issue orders. He shook his head, saying nothing but letting them it was okay to rest. None of his men looked ready for another battle, it wasn't a slight against them, it was the truth. They needed reinforcements and to be rearmed but Jace knew it was folly to give them that much hope. The best they could do was take a minute to breathe and wait for the next attack. He noticed a weary Bisk slumping next to the wall, as if his own weight was too much for him to bear.

"You okay, Bisk?" Jace asked.

The trandoshian struggled to smile as he stood slightly straighter. "Still standing, sir."

Jace placed his hand on his shoulder and nodded. "Get some rest, big guy."

Bisk nodded and slowly slumped to the ground, giving his legs some much needed rest. Jace slowly filed through the corridor, using the wall as support as he got his strength back and then finally walking without aid. His dizziness was wearing off as he arrived at a large room with a central computer projecting a hologram. Surrounding the console were Captain Ankeris, Snicks, Solah, all viewing the map which was showing the last position of the Sith strike force. Snicks noticed Jace and nodded at him before alerting his captain.

Davos glanced away from the console and at Jace. He gave a brief nod. "Commander, it's good to see you up and about. You weren't in a good way when your returned."

Jace nodded. "I know and I'm sorry that the operation went as badly as it did. But I'm back to 100% now."

Davos dismissed his apology. "It's okay sir, the battle didn't go as we planned." He muttered the next part. "They rarely do."

"You managed to complete the mission though," Solah offered. "You've brought us all time and for that, we are thankful." She looked around for a moment. "This is a judiciary building, where we would discuss matters of law and how to keep our citizens safe. But with the Sith on our door step, we refitted it into a war room."

Jace arched an eyebrow. "Not many political concerns at the moment." He uttered dryly.

Solah offered a grim smile at Jace's comments. "It's all too telling how war rearranges our priorities. I'm sure you've seen the same."

Jace stroked his chin slowly. "We lose site of the things we're meant to do and what we're meant to protect."

She agreed with his statement. "I need to win this battle, not for pride, not for honour, but for my people. But this battle," She said looking back at the map. "Isn't going well."

Jace consider the map for a moment, pressing a few keys on the console and widening the map to a planetary scale. He took in the various gunships and shuttle that were in the process of landing on Kosis. He grimaced at the shear scale of the Sith's forces. "A full invasion." He said softly.

Solah answered first. "We think they're gearing up for a bombing run first before marching on the city."

"You said the city's never been breached before?" Jace asked.

"The city's has never faced repeated bombing runs before. I imagine they'll use them bombing to soften up the city's defences first."

Ankeris agreed. "That would be my first port of call. They know it's practically suicide to try invading a city built to resist invasion. With all the different sniper nests, turret emplacements and general ambush sites, we'd be able to thin them out."

Solah scratched her chin with her right forefinger while clenching and unclenching her left hand. "Master Corath, would you be able to project a forcefield around the city to ward off any bombing attempts?"

Jace frowned. "I mean, I could, I've done it before in practice sessions. But how long I can hold that field is a different story all together." He entered another command, focusing the hologram to the centre of the city and adding a few Sith strike fighters. "Assuming I stand here and begin projecting the field and assuming they use the same models, they'll be peppering the city with laser cannon fire used to damage war ships. I can ward that fire half for a maybe half a standard hour but after that I run the risk of weakening the field and only protecting certain parts of the city. Eventually I'll weaken and fail." Everyone appeared crest fallen but Jace held up an idea. "I do have an alternative."

Ankeris eagerly awaited the alternative. "Go ahead."

Jace added a few more variables to the battlefield, placing some extra units, namely the walkers they'd managed to land. "We've still got three walkers, all armed with heavy turbolasers and laser cannons. They could provide some anti-air fire while we evacuate the city."

"Evacuate?" Solah asked, a sad frown spreading over her face.

"You need to get as many of the people out as you can, at least before the Sith invade." Jace said. "It'll give us time to hold them back and fight the battle on our terms."

"I see," Solah said. "The Sith would purposely target the people to draw your attention."

Jace nodded. "And it would work. We'd lose the battle before it even began."

"Sirs!" A voice called out, belonging to a slender male twi'lek. The entire assembly turned to face the young the man with Solah gesturing for he to deliver his report. "A scout has reported the Sith are going to attempt a ground invasion while they bomb the city."

"Dammit." Ankeris said, his deep voice filling the room. He exhaled forcefully. "Just as we feared. Right, we follow the commander's plan and focus on the air threat first. I can take a group of soldiers on speeder bikes to slow the ground forces down. Meanwhile, Commander Alia can guide the evacuees out of the city while Commander Corath directs the anti-air operation."

"Captain, wouldn't I be of more use on the front lines?" Jace asked.

Ankeris smiled grimly while walking towards Jace and speaking in a hushed tone. "Sir, with respect, we need our best ready for the greater fight that's about to come. The charge I lead will be to buy time not make a dent."

Jace was shocked; as a Jedi, he held all life in high regard. "Captain, I cannot condone this route of conduct."

"With respect, sir, this is the nature of war. War, especially this one, requires sacrifice. If it buys the civies time, then the we'll be glad to do our part." Ankeris saluted crisply, standing tall and holding his blaster pistol in his right hand. "It's been an honour sir, but don't tell the Commander. Not yet."

Jace's heart sank, knowing he was right, and that Alia would demand to follow him. He nodded solemnly. "Good luck, Captain."

Ankeris nodded at Jace and then at Solah before walking out to prepare his charge. Jace looked at Snicks first and then at Solah. "Ma'am, I think you should retreat. With all due respect, there's nothing you can do here. Make sure you people are ready to move as soon as we give the signal."

She nodded, taking Jace's hand. "Thank you, Commander." She sighed. "We're going to lose but at least I know you will do your best."

Jace kept a calm front up as she left the building with her assistant. Snicks leaned against the holo-table, clearly exhausted. "Why don't you get some rest, Snicks?"

He tried to resist but he almost fell. "Yeah, I think you're right." He stopped for a moment, looking at his shaking hand. "I'm still scared, man."

Jace smiled sadly, showing his own shaking hand. "Same here, but we're going to get through this."

Snicks gave a soft smile. "You know, I never had a brother, Jace. Mainly have sisters but, if I had a brother, I'd want him to be like you."

Jace smiled. "I have no family, Snicks, but I'd gladly call you brother."

When he left, Jace exhaled slowly, realising he had some time to himself. He took the nearby elevator to the roof of the building. Though it was rather modest when compared to the enormous skyscrapers of Coruscant, it was still the tallest building in the city. He gazed up at space, trying to count the numerous Imperial Naval ships. All of them were foreboding, an obvious design choice to strike fear in whatever populace they appeared over. Jace stretched his arms above him and reached for the ships, almost as if he was trying to claw them out of the sky. He chuckled to himself; even his own master wouldn't be capable of such a feat. Though it would be useful for his current predicament. Instead he focused on his fingertips, breathing slowly and slowing his heartbeat until he heard a soft rustle. He moved his fingers around the air, trailing flames and creating a pattern around him. When Jace had first discovered his pyrokinetic talents, they had been dependent on how angry or upset he was. However, with training, he'd learnt to use it in tandem with serenity. Now he could light his entire body aflame and use it as a method of meditation. He barely noticed that he was projecting jets of flame around him and causing them to whip around. With one final move, he projected a torrent of flame into the sky, almost like a signal flare for all to see. He exhaled slowly and found his sense of peace before returning back to the lower floors. He activated his comm link and called the APC column.

"Walker officer, this is Commander Corath, how goes the formation?"

"Sir, this is Sergeant Phiandr Corbal, we've set up a series of walkers in different locations. Our group is holding in the city centre. We await your arrival."

"Copy that, I'm on my way." Jace deactivated his comm link and headed back to the small medical ward. Most of the troopers had filed out to another part of the building to get a few hours rest before the offensive began. He quietly entered the room and glided over to Alia's case of supplies. She still had an abundance of combat stims for any who needed them. Jace knew she would not agree with him taking one, especially before a battle but Jace needed the edge. He still felt fatigued and he did not have the time for healing trance to recover the rest of his strength. He looked over at Alia, still sleeping and slowly injected the stim. He felt sudden rush of energy so much so that his fingers lit aflame. He exhaled slowly and cracked his neck before placing the empty injector into a nearby waste bin. He walked over to see Alia and gently caressed her cheek.

"I'll see you soon."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N - Oh we're back people. Short and sweet chapter this week but plenty of action. Next chapter is going to be hefty but hopefully entertaining for you all. Enjoy and happy reading._

Chapter Nine

The tranquil fury within Jace built up to the point that he felt it difficult to halt. The Sith had chosen night to attack the camp, knowing full well the defenders would be weary and exhausted. It was dishonourable, reprehensible, and disgusting, something Jace knew was all to characteristic of the Sith. He gently placed Ila on the ground. "Listen, I know you're scared, but I need you to head down that path, back to the hospital. You'll find my friend, another Jedi who will look after you."

"No," she said softly. "I want to stay with you."

Jace got to his knees, eye level with her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Ila, I can't protect you while I'm fighting. If you stay with my friend, I'll know you're safe."

Ila finally relented, giving a solemn nod before sprinting back towards the hospital. Jace stood, his eyes narrowing as she sprinted towards the front line, the thunder of blaster fire deafening him. He saw several dead troopers littering the area but those that were still alive, even the injured, were nestled in cover returning fire. Lieutenant Nivus, now helmeted, was laying down fire with his blaster pistols towards the darkness, guided only by his instincts and the gaps in the automated defence turret's field.

"Lieutenant, sit rep?" Jace shouted.

"Lost ten troopers in the first bombardment. Thought we'd have more time thanks to the bombing runs but we're out of luck. We've no heavy defence turrets left and our search lights have been shot out. Troopers are reporting malfunctioning helmets as well so we're down to line of sight." He paused briefly. "Sir, I suggest we evacuate the civilians now, while we still have a chance."

Jace nodded. "Get started, I'll take over."

Nivus signalled three other troopers, waited for a moment, and then sprinted back towards the hospital. Jace ignited his lightsabre and closed the distance between he and the troopers near the first embankment, deflecting blaster bolts. Jace flowed like water over rocks, moving with blinding speed as deflected and weaved between blaster bolts. He stretched out with his Jedi sense and analysed the area, cutting through the darkness. He took cover with some troopers and gazed over to his right, finding Snicks swearing in between firing his rifle. He was lucky to avoid a few errant bolts, cursing a storm. Alongside him was Bisk, his trandoshian physique allowing him to wield a heavy repeating blaster, laying down suppressing fire.

"SNICKS!" He shouted over the fire to get his attention. "Continue firing in the right field, leave the left flank to me."

Snicks ducked from oncoming fire. "Stang. YOU SURE ABOUT THAT, BOSS. THESE BASTARDS ARE GOING TO OVERWHELM US!" He replied in a panicked tone.

"Snicks, trust me." Jace replied, calmly, accentuating his voice with The Force.

Snicks took a breath, relaxing himself as much as he could with blaster fire whizzing past his head, and relayed Jace's commands. He barely saw Jace plunge headfirst into the darkness with nothing illuminating him. Jace closed his eyes, opening himself to The Force so he could sense his opponents. The Sith troops revealed a brutal Force presence with them being illuminated by billowing red flames that eschewed from their frames. It always unnerved Jace but he had come to understand that it was simply because of how close they were to the Dark. Most of the soldiers were outfitted with blast rifles while others wielded vibro swords and other lightsabre repelling weapons. Jace knew he was ready for a fight, he had been trained for the majority of his life how to fight and win. It had dented his confidence, being beaten and pushed back over the past few days. Now, he could use Master Corath's training to its full devastating use. He took a beat before rushing towards the blaster wielding troops, cutting them down before they could even react. Ten more took aim but Jace was already dodging their fire, reacting with a telekinetic wave that sent them crushing into nearby speeder wrecks. Jace pushed his reflexes to their max, the world seeming to slow down to the point that blaster bolts barely moved. He weaved past them, punching a trooper hard enough to crack his helmet and send him hurtling away. He cut, stabbed and tore his way through another horde of troops, rushing towards the oncoming close weapons specialists. He parried a pair of vibro blade wielding troops, removing their arms and pushing them out of the way. Though the troops had some superficial training, their strikes were lazy and their moves too predictable. Jace recognised a few of the Sith based lightsabre combat techniques but they were crudely implemented. Though the Sith did use a few of the Jedi combat forms, they specialized in using the darker emotions to fuel their ability meaning they only shared a passing resemblance. Jedi on the other hand were taught self-defence and even the more aggressive forms of lightsabre combat such as Form Four, Five and Seven were to be used carefully. Master Corath had shown Jace that the Sith used their lightsabres to inflict harm rather than end a battle. Ardin had instructed Jace in three specific forms of lightsabre combat; From Three Sorseu for an impenetrable defence designed to wear his opponent out; Form Four Ataru suited to Jace's innate agility; and finally Form Five Djem So for when Jace had to employ brute force. He switched between the three seamlessly, cutting down foe with unnerving ease. It was difficult for Jace to stay focused, keeping his mind and on just stopping the Sith's forces. It was easier to just resort to pure instinct and unleash everything he had but if he did he'd drift closer to the dark. When he found no more to slaughter, he opened his eyes glancing around at the carnage he had wrought, slightly taken aback at the number of corpses. In the flurry of battle, he hadn't noticed the few glancing wounds he'd taken. He shook them off and walked back to the defence position, finding his troopers using the brief respite to reload. The troopers glanced up at Jace, all appearing slightly shaken, even afraid of him. Jace looked down at his hands and deactivated his lightsabre, softening his face. He did want to offer words of solace but he knew time was short.

"Retreat to the hospital and help the Lieutenant with the evacuation." He glanced back. "They'll be redoubling their efforts soon." He said softly as he followed them back towards the hospital.

Near the building, he found a large group of civilians all clamouring for attention and appearing fearful. Jace noticed Alia was wielding her lightsabre, directing her troopers to gather resources. Lieutenant Nivus was doing his best to answer any questions civilians but the normally stoic man was beginning to lose patience. Jace spied a fearful Ila hiding behind Alia's leg who finally beamed when saw Jace. She sprinted towards him, almost knocking him over as she hugged him tightly.

"Jedi, you're back." She said happily, innocently unaware of the battle that had just taken place.

On the other hand, Alia knew exactly what had happened during the battle. Jace had felt her reaching out to him during the carnage and she had gotten a taste of his mindset. While she wasn't afraid of him like his troopers, she was clearly unnerved.

Jace shook his head. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

Alia took a step forward, frowning slightly. "It's fine Jace, I just forgot how good you were at fighting,"

Jace smiled grimly. "Fighting is something Master Corath has made me a master in. Being a Jedi Guardian means I'll have to take up my sword more often than not. I know you don't agree with the violence."

Alia pursed her lips. "I've never liked fighting but I understand we sometimes need to meet violence with violence to protect those that cannot fight."

Jace looked around. "How's the evacuation going?"

Alia frowned as she glanced back at the hospital. "Its not been the smoothest of operations but we are getting people out. We've only got one transport vehicle left and that's being reserved for those who can't walk. The main problem I've discussed with Nivus is that some of my patients are far too injured to be moved. Most of them are dying slowly and pain medication is just about doing enough to ensure they get some rest." She glanced down at a smiling Ila, and offered her a smile, before looking back at Jace, the smile gone. "We may have to euthanise them."

Sparks of electricity travelled up Jace's spine, alerting him to oncoming danger. He spun on his heel, erecting a telekinetic shield to protect those around him from a wall of oncoming debris and dust. Out of the dust field, what was left of Jace's troops led by Snicks and Bisk sprinted forward, still trying to lay down cover fire. Snicks's helmet visor had been cracked, showing his right eye and was plastered with laser burns. Bisk had dropped his heavy blaster, opting for two blaster rifles that he fired like blaster pistols.

"Commander, we've got more coming up. I think there's a group of attack vehicles following us." Snicks said, panting in between his words.

Jace clenched his fists, silently cursing his foolishness for leaving the front. He glanced around for a moment, considering his options but he already knew what he had to do. "Fall back and evacuate the area. Get as far away from here as you can." He looked back at Alia. "Have you got time to euthanise your patients?"

Alia stepped forward and took his hand. "Jace, are you sure?" She knew what he was about to. "Using that technique always brings you closer to darkness."

Jace glanced away, seeming to grapple with his decision for a moment. "It can't be helped," he gestured towards the hospital. "Please, hurry Alia, I won't be able to buy much time."

"Commander, wait, I'll come with." Snicks said but Alia stood in front of him.

"Samkris, please, don't. You won't like what's about to happen."

Jace stalked forward, undaunted by the numerous Sith forces amassing before him. He called upon his Force abilities, giving himself over to The Force, trusting in it implicitly. An aura formed around him, a fiery blue line of energy with tinges of red. Flames suddenly blew out from his shoulder and arms, biting at the air. He brought his lightsabre up, pressing the ignition switch and trailing the blade across a nearby wall, leaving a deep engraving. He took his lightsabre in both hands, brought it high above his head and brought it down in an overhead slash, releasing a torrential wave of fire energy that engulfed everything in its way. It incinerated Sith battle droids as well as troops. The troops screamed in pain as The Force enhanced flames burnt through their armour with ease, cooking them alive. Through the fighting, Jace had only felt a cold duty from the Sith, as if what they were doing was righteous and good for the galaxy. But now, Jace felt fear, white hot fear that radiated through the city. They were crashing against the bulwark of the Republic's defenders. For a brief instant, Jace enjoyed their fear, his blue eyes showing orange flecks within them. He tried to shake it off, but he projected another blaze of flame that exploded a nearby assault vehicle. This was the Republic's vengeance for thirty years of war that had torn apart peaceful people and their lives. Jace took another step forward, ready to carry out his bloody work.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N - Penultimate chapter, peoples. This is a rather hefty chapter but its full of action and I hope you all enjoy it. Next week will be the final chapter. I can't promise it'll be a happy ending, but it will be a ending nontheless. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter._

Chapter Ten

_Further away_

Letting Ila walk a few paces in front of her, Alia aided a elderly patient across the damaged road. The road, now dented with small craters from recent bombings, was almost unfit for use but the transport behind them was a repulsor craft, floating roughly two feet off the ground, enabling it to move at low speed. Since they had exited the main city road, the remaining troopers who still had charges in their blasters had created a diamond like formation around the civilians and the craft. Troopers without ammo were deployed in other areas such as aiding civilians or conducting forward scouting operations. Nivus had asked permission to give them something to do as most of them were young and succumbing to acute battle stress symptoms. All of them had been fighting for days with only minutes to hours of rest between it. Alia had noticed it in some of the troops and even herself as the days turned long. Despite the stress, she had her danger sense as high as she dared use it. Jace was renowned for his telekinetic skills, considered a prodigy whereas Alia was a master of telepathic applications of The Force. From a young age, she'd been skilled in discerning the thoughts of others and even manipulating them. Mind tricks were considered trivial with Alia being able to use them on all manner of opponent. She'd even shown the ability to easily override natural and Force applied telepathic resistance. All of this ability came with a caveat; she could easily be overwhelmed with all the output by different people. She often suffered from headaches meaning she had to limit the amount of information she took in. For the time being, she was keeping her danger sense at his maximum level without turning her mind to sludge. The Sith were already be conducting landing operations around outskirt villages, systematically killing citizens that were trying to escape. They would soon shut down the roads that they had bombed, holding checkpoints and generally being a nuisance to any evacuating forces. For her part, Alia had tried to plan three different evacuation scenarios, but they all ended the same way she feared: death of her and the civilians. Before the attack, Nivus had delivered a report that no Republic signal from space had been heard, meaning they were still abandoned. Nivus had offered possibly holding down in the mountains behind the city. The caves would provide adequate protection from the Sith while being defendable. A sudden tugging of her right hand drew her from her worries and thoughts. She looked down and found Ila trying to ask a question.

"Will Jedi be alright?" She asked, her big brown eyes seemingly widening.

Alia smiled warmly and bent down. "Jace will be fine, he's really strong."

She had tried to put Jace out of her mind, knowing he would be okay because fighting was what he was trained for. The discovery of his pyrokinesis was received with both praise and fear. His own Master was unconcerned, arguing Jace was prepared for the mental fortitude of using the ability. However, many others became fearful arguing Jace must never use the ability and that he should focus his training in different areas. This became difficult when pyrokinesis became almost second nature for Jace. Eventually the council summoned the young Jace to ask him about the nature of his ability. Jace answered simply that he didn't know why he could do it, implying it was simply innate. From then on, Jace was careful, exploring the limits and tolerances of his ability and the impact it had on his own mind. Alia had often spoke to him about it, drawing a connection between the nature of her own telepathic abilities to the point that she could easily manipulate others to do her bidding. Both powers had side effects that affected their mental states and required constant check. But it was only that ability that saved her and Ila from being bisected by a crimson blade. Time slowed down as Alia forced herself to shake off fatigue and move herself and Alia to the ground. She almost missed the attack when she went back to her thoughts but her danger sense came crashing down. The Sith warrior was slim, gangly and wielding two red lightsabres with a draconic looking helmet that belonged in nightmares. The Sith brought both blades up to strike again but barely had to time to execute the attack as the full weight of Lieutenant Nivus crashed into him. Nivus rolled over and jumped to his feet, drawing a pair of fully automatic blaster pistols and began firing at the warrior. The bolts were deflected but the defence was shaky and almost failed. Nivus continued firing while shouting orders.

"Get the civilians to the front and stop the transport, now!"

The Sith was clearly different to the one Jace had encountered; he was tall but not as bulky, instead relying on speed rather than brute force. But the speed covered up the near lack of competent combat abilities. Nivus noticed other weaknesses such as the lightsabres being too heavy for the warrior to wield effectively. The warrior was over compensating for his lack of power with more weapons but it was a rookie mistake. A sudden telekinetic blast sent his automatic blaster pistols from his hand and caused him to back up. He shook off the brief wave of energy and continued forward, undauntedly drawing his secondary semi-automatic blaster pistol in his underarm holster. He fired, pulling his wicked looking vibro combat blade that had been weaved with cortosis mesh. He wielded them in tandem, firing to open space and gaps while stabbing with the knife. The Sith responded with a heavy-handed slash with his right lightsabre. Nivus rolled under, parrying the blade away and lashing out with a hard kick to the Sith's stomach. The Sith was winded, giving Alia a chance to join the fight in earnest. She ignited her vermillion coloured lightsabre and charged forward. She was primarily versed in form three of lightsabre combat but she had some cursory knowledge of form five thanks to Jace. She thought about fulfilling the parry role of the pair, enabling Nivus to strike without having to worry too much about defence. The warrior attacked Alia with a rapid series of slashes that she parried away. She tried to strike forward but the Sith dodged and snapped back with a slash to her leg. She managed to evade but was at a disadvantage as the Sith struck for her left. She stepped back, resuming her defence hoping to tire the warrior out. The warrior responded with a lash of lightning that momentarily blinded her. She was only saved Nivus's quick reactions who dived to his commander's side and parried away the blow. He bounced away as Alia stood firm, forcing her doubts and personal grievances aside. She began anticipating both his and Nivus's moves to keep her appraised. The Sith tried to focus purely on Alia, hoping to overwhelm her defence. But Alia began to shine, fortifying her defence with every strike and parry. The Sith was getting frustrated and realised he couldn't solely attack Alia while Nivus was firing. Most of Nivus's shots would veer right or left but they were still enough to be a concern. The Sith switched tactics, launching his lightsabre towards Nivus and redoubling his attack with his one lightsabre against Alia. Alia parried his heavy blows, utilising the Sith's own weight and force against him. Nivus returned to the battle, astonishingly wielding the Sith's own blade with great effect. His strikes were timed perfectly to follow up Alia's own parries and opening more gaps in the Sith's defence. Alia seized her opportunity, counterattacking with a pair of strikes to the Sith's legs and forcing him to his knees. She levelled her lightsabre at the Sith's throat, briefly considering executing the warrior. But she was hesitated; her goal in life was to heal, to make new that which was broken and restore life if possible. She'd been forced to kill but it was only in self-defence of herself and others. Killing this sad deluded creature would serve no purpose. As she debated her moral quandary the Sith suddenly yelped in pain as Nivus drove his combat knife through his brain stem. He fell dead to the ground, dropping his lightsabre with Nivus dropping the other one. Alia glanced at Lieutenant Nivus who was simply cleaning his combat knife and recharging his blaster.

"Sometimes deciding not to take a life is just as important as taking one, sir." He said simply while moving off to retrieve his blasters.

Alia looked down for a moment. "Thank you, lieutenant." She said, returning to civilians, assessing them for injuries.

Thanks to the efforts of the nearby troopers, most of the civiilains had been protected from any errant blaster bolt or possible lightsabre. Some of the troopers had laser burns from deflected blaster bolts but these were minor at best. Alia made sure Ila was safe before being drawn back by the sound of cracking bones. She glanced back and found the Sith's corpse standing up, bones cracking and reordering painfully. Whatever had reanimated the corpse emitted a brutal howl that shattered a few troopers' visors, summoning a torrent of air that felt cold and evil. Alia ignited her lightsabre bringing it to a guard state and focused on her connection to the Light. She knew The Sith were capable of using dark Force magic to conjure many evil things, even bringing the dead back to life. Her Master had taught her that only pure light could destroy objects of darkness meaning Alia would have to craft a wall of light but it would take time to form. She noticed Nivus take aim with his blaster and instantly firing a full spread. The blaster bolts took bloodless chunks out of the reaminated Sith but it simply stood straighter and screamed in agony. Almost as if it was reacting to putted strings, it charged the pair at full speed, ready to rip them apart. Suddenly, as if it was caught on something, it stopped and was sent into low orbit with a massive telekinetic effort.

Alia's fearful frown changed to a hopeful smile as she called out. "Jace-." She stooped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening slowly.

Standing in front of them with his large right fist raised above his head stood the Sith warrior that had almost killed Jace. His long cloak hung in the darkness with he only being illuminated by his crimson eyes, flashing in the dark.

"Halt!" Alia shouted, stepping in front of Nivus. "You go no further."

The warrior brought his fist down, slightly amused at her statement. "I will go where I please, Jedi whelp."

Alia bared her teeth. "I will lay my own life down before I let you get to them."

The warrior's eyes focused on the people behind her and then back at her. "A waste." He said simply as he took one step forward.

Not waiting for Alia to move, Nivus took aim and fired his blasters. The Sith didn't even bother igniting his lightsabre, instead stopping the bolts mid flight and reaching past them to Nivus. Nivus croaked as he was lifted high into the air, dropping his blasters. He tried to reach for his combat knife but the Sith simply clenched his fist and began crushing Nivus's armour.

"Stop!" Alia shouted, unleashing a telepathic shockwave that dropped the warrior to his knee. "You will not harm us."

His red eyes glowed with furore as he glanced up. "Get out of my head, witch."

Alia's blue eyes shone fiercely as she spoke clearly. "You will drop him."

Slowly Nivus dropped to the ground as the warrior headed her order. "I will not submit."

Alia clenched her fists. "You will take your lightsabre and drive it through your black heart." She was terrified of her own words, but she knew she had to make it the focal point of her thoughts.

The Sith took his lightsabre and placed it over his chest, his thumb hovering over the ignition switch. "I, I will," he paused, finally looking up, his crimson eye defiant. "NEVER BOW TO YOU."

Alia suddenly smelt ozone in the air as prongs of red Force lightning raced towards her. She released her hold on his mind and brought her lightsabre up to deflect the first blast. Realising her mistake, she tried to reaffirm her control of the Sith but he'd already sent another trail of lightning towards her. She took the brunt of it with her lightsabre, but she felt the searing heat of the lightning burn her hands and wrists. She fell to her knees, dropping her lightsabre, unable to defend herself. Out of the corner of right eye, she noticed Nivus clawing his way towards her, trying to stand beside her. She slammed her burnt right fist into the ground, an act of pure defiance as the Sith stood tall and ignited his lightsabre.

"An admirable display, witch, but I am not some child that can be repelled by parlour tricks," he paused. "I had hoped to find the other," he gently touched his face, revealing a burn. "I have to pay him back for his tenacity."

"I will not beg!" Alia shouted.

"I would not expect it." The Sith said bringing his lightsabre above his head.

Alia grimaced but nothing happened. She thought the Sith was being cruel but instead found him frozen in place and being pulled back. The very air seemed to vibrate with a visible intensity as the Sith struggled to breathe. Out of the darkness, a fiery aura lit the bleak night up even melting some of the rain. Jace appeared at the limit of Alia's vision but she barely recognised him; his upper armour showed dents from blaster bolts and a wound under Jace's right ribs seemed to be bleeding. The armour covering his right arm had been melted, revealing further burns as well as a few small cuts tracing across his bicep. His long hair had grown messy and his normally blue eyes showed flecks of orange. What was left of his robe clung lazily to his armour and his lightsabre was still activated. In an instant Jace closed the distance between he and Alia. He glanced over at her, gently resting his hand on her shoulder and giving a slight smile.

"I'm alright, Alia." He said softly, lacking confidence. "You need to keep retreating." He looked back at the Sith. "I'll hold him off."

Alia took his hand. "Jace, you're not okay. I can feel it."

He exhaled shakily. "I don't have much left, Alia, but I can do this. Please, go."

Alia nodded slowly, gently pecking Jace on the cheek and retreating to a winded Nivus before moving back to the civilians. Jace watched her and the survivors leave as he turned back and faced the Sith.

The warrior coughed in pain, standing slowly as Jace relented the telekinetic pressure field. "By the looks of things," he said, wheezing slightly. "You had a good time."

"Better than you." Jace offered.

The Sith offered a voracious laugh. "I've been looking forward to this, Jedi scum."

"Before we start, I want to know your name."

The nodded slowly, igniting his lightsabre and pointed it at Jace. "I have not yet been appointed the title of Darth but my Master always called me Gore."

Jace gave a nod of respect. "I am Jace Corath, Jedi Knight, former apprentice of Master Ardin Corath."

Gore raised an eyebrow, seemingly impressed. "Ardin Corath? His name has been echoed throughout the ranks of the Sith. He's said to be second to Ven Zallow himself. I will enjoy hauling your broken corpse to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant." He paused. "When you die, you will have no words of defiance, nothing left to offer this world. I will march past you, find those refugees, the witch and her troops and butcher them all."

Jace's eyes shone intensely. "The last few days have been hell, you abject monster. You and your brutish force have laid waste to this planet for nothing more than a notch on your belt." He raised his lightsabre. "So, here and now, I'm going to kill you, not because I have to defend this planet but purely because I hate you."

In an instant, Jace blitzed forward, blinding Gore wit his speed and brought his lightsabre down in a overhead slash. Gore narrowly managed to bring his lightsabre up to defend the strike causing a mild shockwave that overturned a nearby wrecked speeder. Jace forced the pressure onto Gore who absorbed most of his strength and pushed him back. He launched forward, landing a bone breaking straight kick into Jace's abdomen. Jace refused to back down, launching into another attack, this time responding with a heavy form five strike to Gore's defence. Technically, Jace was much the better fighter, easily blending his three dominant forms into one and being close to overwhelming Gore's own ability. Gore himself was less technically gifted but what he lacked in technicality, he made up for with strength. Every time Jace put his strength into a strike, Gore was able to overwhelm the strike and push him back. But Jace was tried of being pushed back, he saw through Gore's feint to the right and leapt straight over Gore. Landing perfectly, Jace punched Gore straight into the spine, pushing him off balance. He projected a wave of fire, burning Gore's cloak away and causing him to roar in pain. Gore charged forward, throwing a wave of telekinetic energy that staggered Jace. He responded with a flurry of strikes that Jace had to roll and dodge around until he could get his defence back. Finally, Jace slipped back into form three, redirecting Gore's own energy back and almost throwing him to the ground as Gore overcommitted to a strike. Gore got back up, seething with rage and roared at Jace trying to intimidate him. Jace's face stayed still but his eyes still shone as he unleashed a brutal wave of telekinesis which managed to uproot the duracrete roads and send Gore flying into a nearby heavy load transport. Gore felt the impact as he fell to his knees and forced himself back up, charging Jace with his lightsabre raised. Anger coursed through Jace's veins as he projected another firestorm that melted the duracrete beneath him. Jace couldn't explain why his stoic demeanour had finally bled away, replaced with nothing but anger and rage. He knew he had grown tired of losing but he was always taught to remain calm. But the rage was finally loose and terrifyingly, Jace felt as if this was his natural state of mind. He watched as Gore managed to wrap his lightsabre in a field and cut through the oncoming fire. The area had become so hot that his mouth and skin became dry and deprived of moisture. He looked up at Jace, who's fiery aura had returned, and charged him again. He launched a heavy strike which knocked Jace's lightsabre away. Gore saw his chance and drove is lightsabre towards Jace's stomach. The lightsabre almost bounced away as Jace used a telekinetic shield to defend himself. He regained his composure and drew himself into a blade lock with Gore. They were both balanced, each pushing with all of their strength. Jace planted himself firmly in The Force, supplanting his strength and enabling him to hold fast. Gore suddenly ignited his arms with arcs of red force lightning, hoping to burn Jace's arms. Instead, Jace lit his arms on fire and projected them forward against Gore's lightning. It became a battle of auras with each trying to gain ground. Jace's attention was suddenly drawn away by the whispers of the Sith's forces reforming after the havoc he had wrought. They were hunting down the refugees and would easily overwhelm them. Jace wanted to murder Gore but he realised his quest for blood was not as important as the lives of the civilians.

"I've told them to shell the area." Gore snarled. "They'll die in pain while you finally give in to your blood lust."

Jace took his right hand from his lightsabre and thrust it forward. "You will die now."

There was a horrible sound as if metal was groaning as Jace projected a titanic telekinetic push that set Gore hurtling through three skyscrapers and deeper into the city. He fell to his knees, trying to gather his energy back before jumping back up. He surrounded himself with a telekinetic field and flew toward Alia and the refugees.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N - And here we are lovely people, the final chapter. Whew, this has been a long one and a bit of learning experience. But I'm hoping you've all enjoyed the series. This might be the last one I write for a year or so. Heading back to uni and that'll be taking most of my time up. Nevertheless, if you liked what you've seen, give my Dead Space fic some love. You might enjoy it. Stay sane friends, and again, thanks for reading. _

Chapter Eleven 

_Outskirts of Deyom_

Jace felt as if his body was about erupt in flames but he had to keep pushing. He'd flown before but never at such speeds and never when he was about to collapse from exhaustion. But he couldn't let up, summoning as much of The Force as his wound addled body could handle. He landed in the middle of the refugees, crashing into the limping transport and causing a slight stir of dust. He forced himself to his knees, panting from the strain and found Snicks and Alia rushing towards him. Snicks looped Jace's arm over his shoulder but Jace pushed he and Alia away.

"Jace, stop, I need to heal you." She looked him over. "By The Force, you're nearly dead! Did you beat him?"

Jace put Alia's glowing hand down, shaking his head. "No, I didn't have time." He looked back at Alia, his eyes suddenly widening in shock as his danger sense burned his spine. "DOWN!" He roared as she summoned whatever strength he had to push Alia and Snicks down.

Heavy laser cannon fire peppered the area, narrowly missing the transport vehicle and scattering refugees. Nivus, limping from his encounter with Gore, forced himself to start issuing orders.

"Heavy weapons, we need to lay down fire on those damned tanks, now!" He roared.

A trooper rushed over, hefting his own blaster rifle. "Sir, we've got no heavy weapons. We had to leave most of the arsenal behind when we evacuated.

Nivus clenched his fists and took a blaster rifle from the floor, taking aim at the oncoming tank formation. The blaster would be like throwing a rock at the tank's armour, but he had to do something. He refused to die on this planet, knowing the war was still raging on and he had a duty to the Republic. Jace rushed forward, standing in front of the people and shouted towards the oncoming tanks.

"GORE, STOP, LET'S END THIS HERE AND NOW! SPARE THEM!" He roared, his voice full of power and almost inhuman.

As if on command, the tank line stopped and from within the line, a small sperhical floating droid approached. It stopped just short of Jace and projected a hologram of the Sith. Gore's armour was cracked in multiple places, his cape was completely burned and multiple glass fragments were embedded in his face with one particularly large shard protruding from his left arm.

He spoke through gritted teeth, seething with malice and ignoring his wounds. "You and I are out of time. I wanted to kill you slowly but now I'll have to get it over with. Understand this, you will not be remembered." The hologram suddenly dissolved as the droid simply dropped the ground.

Jace looked down, any of the rage he had been using bleeding away and being replaced by primal fear. He glanced first at Nivus. "I'm sorry," he then glanced over at Snicks and Alia. His bottom lip quivered as he spoke. "I'm so sorry."

He looked back at the tank line and watched as the tanks began firing. Instinctively, Jace raised his hands and formed massive telekinetic shield, fuelled by nothing but his despair. The shield stretched over the refugees, his troops and the last remaining transport. The first series of fire was manageable but it became more fierce, causing small fractures and cracks across the shield. Jace redoubled his efforts but noticed his muscles beginning to buckle from the pressure. He ignored it and focused on keeping the shield intact. As if noticing the resistance, the tanks began to ratchet up the fire with a furious display of light crashing into the shield. Jace's arms shook, he felt something snap in his right and his left was consumed in pain. He roared in anguish, refusing to give up but realising there was a real chance he would lose one of his arms. More fire left new fractures in the shield which Jace couldn't repair in time. He felt a steady stream of blood training from his nose and his eyes felt as if they would burst from their sockets. Suddenly, his right arm snapped, the bone protruding out and causing him to fall to his knees. Jace held his left arm up, keeping the shield intact in places but unable to keep hold it in other areas. Fire began to consume the area around him and Jace realised the shield was simply too weak to do nothing but forestall the inevitable. He glanced back, finding Alia holding Ila close, trying to shield her from the fire and Snicks using his body to shield an elderly refugee. Jace felt his left arm drop and he knew what was coming next.

"No."

Pain travelled through Jace's body like a wildfire as he slowly awakened, feeling a large piece of metal covering his body. He groaned, forcing himself to his knees and gently toppling the sheet of metal off his back. He took a moment to focus, ignoring his horrible mangled right arm but realising it would probably be useless or need to be amputated. His left arm wasn't broken but it didn't exactly feel better; he moved it around, feeling shocks of pain through out the limb. He shook it off as he coughed in pain before his eyes suddenly went wide form shock. He found Snicks, lying in the dirt and surrounded by his own blood with his lower half missing. Jace scampered over to the somehow still conscious Snicks who was in shock from his wounds. Jace sighed softly as he took Snicks' right hand, the left having been blown off.

"Jace," he coughed painfully again. "I don't feel good, man."

Jace welled up, trying to suppress his own pain. He tried to radiate calm, but he knew he was failing. "You have nothing to fear, Snicks. Everything's going to be okay."

"I need you to do something for me," he said in between laboured breaths. "Find my mom, my sisters as well," he sniffled, tears finally beginning to fall. "They're going to be so torn up. But I need them to know, I fought hard, I made a name for myself." He coughed again. "I didn't need anyone."

Jace nodded, now freely crying. "I'll tell them, my friend, I promise." Jace felt Samrkis Mallrad's life slip away slowly as he gave a content look, finally releasing Jace's hand. "Rest easy, brother."

For a moment, Jace was frozen in shock, halfway in between wanting to scream and destroy something. A sudden rustling caught his attention from behind and he gingerly turned to face it. He wanted to keep his friend's body safe but he saw Alia trapped under a metal sheet with a rod impaled in her upper right leg. Jace forced himself up and grunted with effort as he telekinetically lifted the sheet and launched it away. Alia's face was covered with small cuts but she looked fine besides the wound in her leg. She sat up slowly, revealing an unharmed Ila beneath her. Ila had been protected by both a concentrated telekinetic field and Alia's own body. Jace cried again, this time out of sheer relief as he helped Alia to her feet. Alia looked around, noticing Snicks' body and finding Lieutenant Nivus. He lay dead, next to what was left of the transport, missing a few limbs and surrounded by blood.

She let out a sob. "We lost them all." She said in a shaky voice as she looked at the remains of the refugees.

Jace collapsed to his knees, refusing to look as he felt anger and hatred within. Small tinges of flame licked across his arms, burning his wounds and causing him negligible pain. He felt Alia sit next to him, taking his left hand and squeezing it softly.

"Jace, please don't."

"I failed, Alia." He said, his blue eyes beginning to show more orange flecks. "I got us all killed."

Alia gently leant on his left shoulder. "We're still here, Jace. We're still together."

He looked at her, taking solace in her deep blue eyes and letting the brief moment of peace relax him. He felt Ila crawl over his leg and rest her head on his thigh. The silence was welcome as a cloud of dust and fog rolled in, encompassing the area. A sudden droning caught them all off guard as from the skies, a large Fury Class imperial interceptor landed gracefully, blowing away the fog and dust. The ugly grey and black colour scheme made it look like some ancient grim reaper, come to take their souls. The rear doors opened slowly, revealing four Sith troopers and a Sith politician of sorts. Anger ignited Jace's mind as he stood, groaning in pain but ready to defend his friends. He summoned his lightsabre to his left hand and ignited it. Jace summoned what little of his power he had left, realising he had a little over a minute of power before his body would burn out.

"You can put that blade away, young man, we are here to rescue you." The politician, a stout Sith male of average height and wearing black robes, declared, his voice deep but with a sense of smugness.

"What do you mean?" Jace spat angrily.

Another droning caught their attention as Jace glanced up, finding a battle scarred Rendaran shuttle touching down roughly. Its bay doors opened almost immediately, revealing four republic troopers and none other than Captain Movus herself. She was armed with a small blaster pistol which she was brandishing.

"Jace, for god's sake, stand down." She ordered, gasping at his state but quickly regaining her composure. "Please."

What?!" Jace roared in anger, small flecks of flame firing forward. "Do you have any idea what we've been through over the past few days? Where were you?! We needed you!"

Movus seemed to be taken aback but she stood firm. "Jace, I'm sorry. We were coming but we were forced to stand down." She paused, taking a shaky breath. "The war, its over."

"Listen to your captain, child." The Sith politician said. "The war was ended exactly a day ago when your beloved Republic surrendered. The ceasefire we have in place means we are all pulling our forces back."

"WHAT!" An indignant powerful voice called out.

The Republic troopers and Movus took aim at the source of the voice while the Sith just glanced at the large figure marching forward. Gore was still heavily injured, bleeding profusely in places but remained furious.

"Cease your prattling, whelp. The war is over." The politician said, obviously looking down on Gore.

Gore clenched his fists. "I was sent here to cleanse this planet."

"You obviously failed." A powerful voice called out.

Jace recognised the voice and felt a overwhelming sense of peace and relief. He watched as Master Ardin Corath emerged from the shuttle, marching towards the Republic forces. His snow white robes seemed to shine, making him appear dignified.

"Master." Jace said softly.

"My son, it is wonderful to see you again," he looked Jace over. "Fear not for you injuries, we will have them attended to once we're back on the Valour." He turned his attention to Gore, hardly intimidated by the monstrous Sith warrior. "We will pull our forces back while you return to wherever you came from."

Gore snarled in anger, flashes of Force lightning crackling at his fingertips. "Cowards! All of you." He roared.

"Say it again, you bastard and I'll kill you where you stand!" Jace roared defiantly, bringing his lightsabre up.

"Jace, stand down." Movus said, walking past him, closely followed by Ardin. "Keep your dog on his leash." Movus said, jabbing her right index finger at the Sith politician.

The Sith politician gave a eerie smile before chuckling. "Heel, dog." He said, addressing Gore.

"NO!" Gore snarled. "They are weaklings. I can kill them all now."

Ardin gave small smile and shook his head. "You have a terrible grasp on the meaning of the word 'weak', child. When this war finally ends, you will see our strength resides in the people we protect. It resides in us being unrelenting in our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is why we will win. That is why we will always be more powerful than you. Our power lasts forever, your victories are but fleeting moments in time."

Gore was silent for a moment but then, faster than anything Jace had ever seen, moved towards Ardin and decapitated him with a swift strike. Ardin's headless corpse fell to the ground while Gore simply stepped out of the way. Alia screamed in terror, shielding Ila from the sight, broken by the fallen tower of power. The republic troopers rushed to Movus and took aim at Gore.

"Stand down!" She shouted; her voice shaky as her eyes watered.

Jace finally collapsed to his knees, silently grieving his father's death with his eyes shielded by darkness. "What happens if I kill him?" He said to no one in particular.

Movus glanced over. "You'll be disavowed and cast out of the Jedi order. The Republic will have to turn you over to them."

Jace finally looked up, eyes burning with pure rage, the right glowing red and the left glowing blue. His fate was sealed. "Fine."

In an instant, Jace snapped the necks of the Sith troopers and sent the politican hurtling to the ground with a thought. The Republic troopers tried to move but they were knocked down with a telekinetic blast. Jace's entire body lit aflame as he launched his blue lightsabre straight into Gore's chest, staggering him. He rushed over, summoning Gore's own lightsabre and moved with blinding speed. He first took Gore's right arm, then his left, then his legs and finally landed thousands of slashes to Gore's torso, filleting his torso until it barely resembled human. He dropped the lightsabre, concentrating with what little focus he had left and ignited Gore's body, burning it to a crisp before causing it to explode with a telekinetic blast. He dropped to his knees, out of power and broken.

"They can have my skin now."


End file.
